The whole country watched with bated breath as the fearless #MPRraccoon scaled the UBS building in St. Paul. That little raccoon brought us all together as we cheered her on and hoped that she would make it to the top.
The story was first reported by Tim Nelson of MPR News who kept the world updated on the raccoon’s infamous climb and the rescue progress. And well, if you haven’t yet heard the thrilling conclusion, our masked hero made it to the top of the building: She ended up scaling over twenty stories of the UBS Plaza building and finally made it to the roof where a live trap baited with cat food awaited her. It was around 2:30 in the morning when #MPRraccoon was successfully and safely captured.
She was released back into the wild after some food and much needed rest but not before that little daredevil quickly garnered several Twitter accounts, inspired fan art, and even moved Minnesotan Mark Mallman to write the song, ‘Raccoon Climber.’
And now, our very own St. Paul Saints will honor and show their solidarity with the #MPRraccoon by changing their name to the St. Paul Raccoons for one day on June 26 for their game against the Sioux City Explorers. On their website, the Saints express they “hope to draw motivation from the cities champion, The Raccoon.” In true Saints fashion the team will wear special St. Paul Raccoon jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game with the proceeds donated to the Minnesota Wildlife Services.
Saints fans of course will not be without their own raccoon gear during the game: The first 1,500 fans to enter will receive special raccoon masks. But if you do miss out on the masks, you still can enjoy the Saints’ pre-game party that honors the high-rise raccoon with an Animal Farm parade that will include various wildlife creatures.
The St. Paul Saints are hoping that in spite of the fact the #MPRraccoon was set free, she will decide to attend the baseball game being played in her honor. According to their website, the Saints are “preparing for her return by offering the key to CHS Field, noting her love of three-lettered buildings. Should the raccoon ever return to the Saint Paul area, she will have free run of the Saints ballpark, to rummage through the trash, climb up the St. Paul Eye Clinic Batter’s Eye, or just hang out and relax.”
The #MPRraccoon has truly inspired a nation. However, not to be completely forgotten is Minnesota’s other recent wildlife encounter: The Dayton’s Mummified Monkey. The Mummified Monkey of course has its own Twitter account (which incidentally is hilarious) and with Tweets like the one below, Dayton’s Mummified Monkey is feeling a little neglected with all the raccoon commotion.
In case you’d like to show some love for the Dayton’s Monkey, you can now see the Mummified Monkey in the lobby at the Science Museum of Minnesota which you can visit right after you watch the St. Paul Saints, now St. Paul Raccoons, play in honor of our very own #MPRraccoon hero.
I can only imagine what Minnesota will offer the world next.
Read next: The Mysterious Case of the Mummified Monkey
