Raccoon bandits break into California bank, don't make off with any cash

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Animal rescuers responded to a call Tuesday morning about two young raccoons who were found inside a closed bank in Redwood City, California.

"It's not every day an animal organization gets called to deal with a bank break in, but since the bank robbers were masked bandits of the wildlife kind, we were indeed the appropriate responders," said Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA communications manager, Buffy Martin Tarbox.

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"The bank managers let our rescue staff into the bank, and after about 10 minutes of chasing the raccoons around the bank, we were finally able to safely shoo them outside. They apparently didn't want to leave the bank."

A man who was using the ATM machine early Tuesday morning noticed the raccoon intruders. At first, he thought he was seeing a stuffed animal on top of a desk inside the bank, but then he saw the animal move and realized he was staring directly at a live raccoon. He then called and reported it to PHS/SPCA.

Although most bank break-ins would require a police investigation, this time, the animal rescue team conducted their own; which was fitting considering the robbers were a couple of nocturnal mammals who likely have no concept of money to steal. They did, however, bring their mischief inside.

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"There were muddy pawprints on a tree outside the bank, so we suspect the raccoons climbed the tree to the roof of the bank, and then somehow managed to crawl into the air ducts and fell through the ceiling tiles onto the floor of the bank," according to Tarbox. "There were several broken ceiling tiles, and the masked bandits knocked papers around and even a computer over. Thankfully the raccoons were not injured during their morning escapade, and to our knowledge they didn't abscond with any money."

PHS/SPCA Animal Rescue & Control rescues thousands of wildlife and domestic animals every single year. It's likely the first time a rescue involved these raccoon shenanigans.