Watch: Hotel-invading raccoon rescued from engine compartment of SUV

Jan. 24 (UPI) — Animal rescuers in Florida assisted a raccoon that found itself on the third floor of a hotel before fleeing into the engine compartment of an SUV.

Wildlife Inc., an animal rescue group based in Bradenton, said rescuers were summoned to the Bridge Street Hotel when a raccoon was spotted wandering around the third floor inside the building.

“During the rescue attempt, the raccoon squeezed through a narrow gap in the railing on the stairs,” the group said in an Instagram post. “It scurried down the stairs to the ground floor confused, scared and potentially injured.”

The raccoon fled beneath some parked cars and ultimately climbed into the engine compartment of a 2013 Nissan Sentra, the post said.

The animal rescuers and the vehicle’s owner attempted the coax the animal out from under the hood for several hours before a veterinarian was brought to the scene to sedate the raccoon for safe extraction.

The raccoon was taken back to Wildlife Inc., where it was examined by a veterinarian and determined to be uninjured.

“He spent a few days at the rescue to recover and has now been released at a safer location,” a follow-up Instagram post said.