A rotund raccoon who got caught in a sewer grate was the subject of a dramatic rescue operation on Thursday.
Rudy Sifuentes, a resident of Zion, Illinois, told CBS his friend noticed the raccoon on Wednesday night, local time, but didn't realise the animal was stuck.
"The next morning I get up, go to work and I see the raccoon sticking his head out. So I told my kid, 'Hey, go give him a couple pieces of bread. Maybe he'll come out.'"
Mr Sifuentes contacted local police after he realised the raccoon was trapped in the sewer grate.
Police officers were unable to remove the raccoon and called animal control, who was also unsuccessful in its attempts to dislodge the critter.
The Zion Public Works Department was the final port of call, and members of the department were eventually able to rescue the raccoon.
"All three of us were trying to figure out how we can get him out without injuring it more. The easiest way was popping the drain off," said Josh Behling from the Zion Public Works Department.
He said the raccoon had "big back hips" that may have prevented him from wriggling to freedom.
"He was a goliath."
Mr Behling said raccoons often used the sewers to make their way around Zion, but how the raccoon became so firmly stuck "will always remain a mystery".
Newshub.
