White House Nabs One Pesky Raccoon
Spokesman says one of the raccoons plaguing the grounds for weeks has been captured and taken to an “undisclosed location.”
Attempts to lure the “finicky bunch” with apples, cat food and peanut butter failed. Click here to find out what did work.
Several more masked mammals are still on the loose.
http://thepage.time.com/2009/02/25/gettywhite-house-nabs-one-pesky-raccoon/ The bait that lured in one White House raccoon: SALMON!
Spokesman Bill Burton says it's "unclear" when raccoon was caught, saying it happened "recently." He would not say whether the "undisclosed location" was the same as former VP Cheney's old hideout.
Raccoon Captured at the White House
By Michael D. Shear
A presidential raccoon has been rendered.
After weeks of stealthy avoidance, one of the masked mammals that had been prowling the White House grounds has been captured by the National Park Service, officials said today.
In keeping with the interests of national security and animal civil rights, President Obama's staff released few details of what was described as a "live capture," in which the raccoon was caught and whisked away to an "undisclosed location."
Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton said it was "unclear" when the animal rendition occurred, saying only that it happened "recently."
He did say that efforts to lure the animal into a cage using apples, cat food and peanut butter failed. Instead, the White House shifted to salmon for bait.
It worked.
"They're a finicky bunch," Burton said of the raccoons, who apparently have sophisticated palettes.
Burton could not identify whether the captured raccoon was the large one that had been spotted on the grounds recently, or one of the several medium-sized ones also roaming about.
He did say the raccoon was not harmed, and was released alive. He would not say whether the "undisclosed location" was the same one where former vice president Dick Cheney was often said to be.
The Washington Post broke the news of the raccoon hunt earlier this month. Days later, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said no progress had been made.
"There are a few that roam in my backyard, so I don't -- I don't have any particular tips," Gibbs said on Feb. 6. "And no -- no raccoons that I know of have been caught or disbursed into other places in Washington."
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/02/25/raccoon_captured_at_the_white.html?wprss=44