Raccoon Caught & Released After Reaching Rooftop In St. Paul

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The most famous raccoon in Minnesota history is officially safe, at least for now.

The raccoon that climbed UBS tower in St. Paul Tuesday has been released into the wild, where she will live out her days.

MPR employees who work nearby noticed the raccoon Tuesday morning, started tweeting and soon #mprraccoon was one of the most popular subjects online.

It was Tuesday afternoon and a furry daredevil transcended a building, and was soon to transcend the globe.

Tim Nelson, who works nearby at MPR, was one of the first to spot the raccoon.

"I've never seen anything like this in my life, it was like watching Spiderman go up the side of the building," Nelson said.

Soon, crowds gathered outside and online waiting with baited breath for the creature dubbed #MPRRaccoon.

Zach Kayser watched with binoculars in hand.

"It's a living creature that's in peril, you can't but help be captivated by it," Kayser said.

Shelia Donnelly had the best view of all, the raccoon rested for hours on her law firm's window sill.

"It's hard not to have the little guy capture your attention and your heart and you want to make sure he's alright," she said.

And around 2:30 a.m., it became apparent that it was going to be all right after it climbed to the roof. Hours later, Wildlife Management caught the raccoon who was catching so much attention.

Watch Below: Captured Raccoon Taken From St. Paul Building

Some of the headlines: The Washington Post's headline read, "Racoon Triumphs over Sky Scraper." The Los Angeles Times headline read, "Racoon safe on Rooftop." TIME Magazine saying "The Internet Hero Climbing Raccoon Has Now Concluded Its Death-Defying Stunt." And it's international, making headlines in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. The Malay Mail in Malaysia calling the viral critter a "social climber."

That climber, which wildlife experts believe to be a young female, turned out to be healthy.

After seeing no signs of rabies, technicians took the raccoon onto some private land in a private location. And with that, the critter who captured the world's attention was released.

Wildlife rescuers say this all started because the raccoon was eating pigeon eggs in the basement. She got startled, and as raccoons often do, climbed upwards.

As St. Paul's raccoon love affair rolls on, the St. Paul Saints baseball team announced Wednesday that they will change their name to the St. Paul Raccoons for their game against the Sioux City Explorers on June 26.