Raccoons—those masked night raiders, dumpster pandas, and occasional backyard bandits—are notorious for rummaging through trash, spreading disease, and even carrying rabies, the CDC says. Yet beneath the mischief lies a surprisingly comic side. Below we tally the 10 funniest events that showcase these critters as accidental celebrities, culinary connoisseurs, and even zombie‑like street performers.
From Tiger Tales to Balloon Tributes: The 10 Funniest Events Unleashed
10 The Raccoon That Got Mistaken For A Tiger
Jonathan Lethem’s 2009 novel Chronic City imagined a prowling tiger tearing through New York’s streets. In April 2018, a very real panic erupted when NYPD officers logged reports of a tiger prowling near 166th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem.
The alarm sparked a wave of social‑media frenzy; local news outlets warned residents to stay indoors lest they be mauled by a feral big cat. Some New Yorkers even received midnight phone calls telling them a tiger was on the loose.
When crews arrived, the “tiger” turned out to be nothing more than a common raccoon. Police later clarified that an animal sighting had occurred, but it was just a raccoon. The confusion was so widespread that a NYPD spokesperson began answering calls with, “It’s not a tiger; it’s a raccoon.”
9 The Raccoons Addicted To Junk Food
In 2017, the St. Charles Animal Control team in Louisiana faced a sugary dilemma: a colony of raccoons in Destrehan had become hooked on junk food—cereals, cookies, doughnuts, marshmallows, and candy—left out for a group of feral cats.
These snack‑loving raccoons didn’t just nibble; they flourished. Control officers reported spotting more than 31 individuals weighing between 14 and 18 kilograms (30–40 lb), far above the typical 6–10 kg (14–23 lb) for adult raccoons. The diet also erased their usual wariness, prompting them to approach parked cars and people directly.
Eventually, officials relocated the oversized, sugar‑fueled raccoons to a safer site, while simultaneously spaying and neutering the resident feral cats.
8 The Raccoons Who Held A Street Hostage
A swarm of more than a dozen raccoons turned violent in 2016, effectively holding residents of Gravier Street in New Orleans hostage. The animals made their lair in a vacant house that had sat empty for over a decade.
From that crumbling structure, the raccoons chased locals across porches and yards. One homeowner even barred his backyard entirely, fearing for his grandchildren’s safety. Fortunately, no one was injured during the standoff.
The raccoon infestation traced back to Hurricane Katrina, when the street became a dumping ground for trash, providing ample food for the critters. Overwhelmed, the local SPCA urged residents to enlist wildlife and fishery services, which in turn suggested hiring paid animal‑control firms.
Ultimately, authorities demolished the abandoned house, hoping the removal would disperse the aggressive pack.
7 The Raccoon That Refused To Take A Selfie
In 2014, Nebraska football player Jack Gangwish spotted a raccoon beside the road and attempted to snap a cellphone selfie. As he approached, the animal lunged and bit his calf. In a shocking turn, Gangwish retaliated with a crescent wrench, killing the raccoon, which was later tested for rabies.
PETA responded by demanding disciplinary action against the player, suggesting the university enforce empathy training for its athletes.
6 The Legacy Of The ‘Nazi Raccoons’
During the 1920s, Germany imported raccoons for fur farming. By the 1930s, the nation was described as being “overrun” with the critters, which began raiding garbage and occasionally attacking people.
In 1934, two pairs of raccoons were deliberately released into the wild to “enrich” local fauna. A persistent myth claims that Hermann Goering ordered the release, a story that tabloids have sensationalized as the “Nazi raccoon” legend, though it lacks factual basis.
Today, Germany’s raccoon population exceeds one million, with some individuals even crossing into the Alpine region. The animals remain apolitical; the “Nazi” label is purely sensational.
5 The Zombie Raccoons Of Youngstown
April 2018 saw reports from Youngstown, Ohio, of raccoons behaving like the walking dead. Witnesses described the animals standing on hind legs, snarling, then collapsing into a limp, zombie‑like state before reviving and repeating the cycle.
Authorities fielded numerous calls about these daytime “zombie” sightings, noting the creatures showed little fear of humans. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ruled out rabies, attributing the odd behavior to canine distemper, a disease that can cause tremors and paralysis in animals but is not transmissible to people.
While distemper can be lethal to dogs, the affected raccoons posed no direct health threat to residents.
4 The Raccoon That Went Viral
Mark “Coonrippy” Brown, a Tennessee farmer, trained his pet raccoon Gunshow to groove to Aretha Franklin. A 2012 home‑recorded video of the dancing raccoon exploded online, racking up over two million views and catching the attention of The Tonight Show and Good Morning America. A production company even pitched a reality‑TV series centered on Brown’s “raccoon‑whispering” act.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) intervened in 2013, seizing Brown’s replacement raccoon, Rebekah, after deeming the keeping of wild animals in captivity illegal. Rebekah had been rescued after its mother was killed while pilfering a chicken.
Animal‑rights activists launched a social‑media campaign urging the governor to return Rebekah, but the ultimate fate of the raccoon remains unclear.
3 The Dead Raccoon That Received A Balloon
In 2016, a mysterious individual in Boulder, Colorado, tied a bright “Get well soon!” balloon to the back of a road‑kill raccoon, likely struck by a vehicle.
The odd tribute sparked a flurry of social‑media commentary—some mocked the gesture as “lame,” while others swarmed the roadside to photograph the macabre scene. City officials later reported an unknown driver approaching the carcass with the balloon, sparking speculation that the balloon was an act of remorse.
For several days, the balloon‑adorned raccoon lingered on the roadside, offering a oddly compassionate visual compared to many other raccoon deaths. That same year, pranksters in New Jersey even placed a dead, frozen raccoon inside a toilet tank as a bizarre stunt.
2 The Raccoon That Stole A Doughnut
In 2015, a Toronto coffee shop became the stage for a daring raccoon heist. The clever animal slipped down from the ceiling, surveyed the pastry case, and snatched a doughnut, all captured on video by patron Peter Jensen.
The clip’s description—“Sly Cooper and the Thievious Donutus”—referenced the video‑game hero Sly Cooper, a raccoon thief. After the successful theft, the Toronto raccoon vanished, and no further attempts were recorded.
1 The Central Park Raccoons
While New York City’s Central Park is famed for muggers, a different menace lurked near The Pond in 2013: two aggressive raccoons cornered Brooklyn musician Takara Larson, blocking her path.
One raccoon licked Larson’s leg while the other sank its teeth into the opposite limb. Reacting quickly, she sprinted to the nearby Plaza Hotel, where a concierge supplied bandages and disinfectant.
Larson was then whisked to Roosevelt Hospital, receiving a rigorous rabies‑vaccination regimen—15 shots to her legs, two to her hips, and one each to her shoulders—followed by a booster series.