An unexpected guest appeared inside a news TV station in Cincinnati, Ohio—a raccoon quietly snuck into the office to 'settle down' in order to escape the harsh cold. An engineer working the night shift unexpectedly encountered this furry 'new colleague' rummaging through the trash bin in search of food. After the incident came to light, it sparked heated discussions among the station’s employees and viewers. Many netizens humorously responded, requesting that an employment contract be processed for this 'new employee.'
The station’s chief meteorologist John Gumm posted on social platform X saying, “We suspected that someone had broken into Local 12 and was secretly living inside to avoid the harsh winter. Now we’ve confirmed the identity of the intruder,” along with a video of the raccoon, and added: “The authorities have been notified.”
In the video filmed by Local 12’s engineer Noah Schuler, the raccoon is seen trying to find food in the office trash bin, pausing every few seconds before diving its head back into the bin. It stretches out a paw to try to grab something at the bottom, but almost tips the bin over, startling itself to quickly retreat to its hiding spot at the edge of the office.
He said that the TV station staff had been unaware of the identity of this uninvited guest, but when the engineer working the late shift encountered this furry ‘thief,’ they were not particularly surprised. It is currently unclear whether the raccoon has been removed from the building.
One netizen joked on X, “This is actually a newly hired employee. I’m its lawyer—firing it would constitute wrongful termination.” Another netizen suggested, “Give it an employee badge, a cute bib, and a bowl of cherries to eat.”
It is worth mentioning that this is not the only raccoon to become the center of attention this year. In December last year, a raccoon in Virginia broke into a liquor store and got drunk, eventually being found passed out next to a toilet in the staff restroom, with a trail of broken bottles at the scene.