The raccoon that barged into a Virginia liquor store, smashed bottles of booze and passed out drunk in a bathroom this past Black Friday has at least two other break-ins under his belt, a local government official has revealed.
Before burgling the Ashland ABC store on 29 November, the raccoon had separately broken into a karate studio and a department of motor vehicles office, all on the same block of businesses, Hanover county animal protection officer Samantha Martin said on an episode of the local government’s official podcast published Thursday.
Martin told Hear in Hanover that the raccoon had even eaten some of the snacks kept at the DMV in what perhaps presaged the boozy bender that the animal was later said to have gone on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings,” Martin said on Hear in Hanover. “Supposedly, this is the third break-in he’s had.
“Somehow he knows how to get back in … He’s a smart little critter.”
Martin said on the podcast that it would be “a death sentence” to relocate the raccoon from his familiar environs. So after the animal sobered up at a shelter in the wake of the drunken break-in, officials released it not too far from the liquor store, the karate studio and the DMV office.
Martin told Hear In Hanover that she had mixed emotions over the raccoon’s ordeal. On one hand, she hoped the raccoon “learned his lesson” about avoiding burglary and drinking responsibly. But also, she remarked: “I just say: ‘Enjoy your life.’”
“I think he’s living his best life,” Martin continued. “And why not? Have a drink or two, especially on Black Friday.”
After the break-in at the Ashland ABC, a store employee found the animal sleeping spread-eagled next to a toilet. The path to the bathroom was littered with shattered whiskey bottles, and the raccoon was evidently inebriated.
The animal showed no signs of injury, according to Hanover’s animal protection service. But, the agency joked, the raccoon may have been grappling with “a hangover” and regret over “poor life choices”.
News of the raccoon’s tipsy caper spread worldwide after a recent study concluded that his kind had adapted to living in urban areas so well that they had been exhibiting physical changes resembling the early signs of domestication.
For instance, urban raccoons’ snouts have become shorter than their brethren living in the wild, which is a trait domesticated animals commonly develop. Similarly, their teeth and brains are smaller – and their tails are curlier while their ears are floppier.
Experts say raccoons’ ability to survive on human refuse has positioned them to live alongside people successfully.
