Raccoon up a crane without a paddle in downtown Toronto

A raccoon seems to be barking up the wrong tree, or in this case, a crane, in downtown Toronto.

The adventurous raccoon was seen climbing up a crane on Adelaide and Peter streets on Monday afternoon, but Toronto Fire will not be rushing to help the critter down.

They tell CityNews that unless the raccoon is at risk of falling on a pedestrian or damaging the crane, they will not dispatch a crew. If the animal found a way to climb up, they expect that it can find a way down.

The crane operator on site tells CityNews they cannot lower the crane the raccoon is on while a second crane on the site is in operation and it will be working all day — so the chances of rescue are slim.

City of Toronto spokesman Brad Ross tweeted an update saying the city spoke to the Toronto Wildlife Centre and they said if an attempt was made to rescue the raccoon with a snare, it would likely get scared and either fall or jump.

“It’s best chance for survival is to wait and let it come down on its own,” he said in the tweet. “Raccoons are expert climbers, and this isn’t the first time a raccoon has made its way up a crane.”

Ross added that a trap has been set inside the crane’s operator cab and the daredevil will be “well looked after when it finally gets bored of the view.”