Mission impossible? Not for this raccoon who gave Tom Cruise a run for his money.
The animal defied gravity as it took a big leap of faith, jumping from the back of a moving truck onto a highway in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Video footage from the incident shows the wild animal frantically scurrying around the edge of the moving dumpster before taking one last look and leaping onto the highway. As it lands on the road, the raccoon rolls over several times and presumably ends up on the green belt along the highway.
What raccoon fly out of moving truck, onto Wisconsin highway
Courageous raccoon performs ‘Mission Impossible’-like move
A driver recorded a raccoon leaping from a moving truck and rolling off the highway in Milwaukee.
Witness describes raccoon’s highway adventure
Wyatt Sanders and his coworker were driving back to their workplace on June 5 when they “noticed something moving around at the top of the dumpster,” he told USA TODAY over email.
“I then saw a tail and soon the face of a raccoon… he was very frantic running to all edges of the dumpster,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ coworker immediately took his phone out and started recording just as “the little guy looked a couple last times before jumping off the truck,” which was moving at a speed of about 50 mph, according to Sanders.
The raccoon rolled over a few times as he landed on the ground, but fortunately survived, Sanders said, adding he had to “slam on the brakes” to avoid hitting the animal, which was dangerously close to his vehicle.
Are raccoons common in Wisconsin?
Raccoons are common furbearers in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The animals can live almost anywhere and will eat almost anything, which is why they thrive in urban areas where they have plenty of access to human-supplied sources of food. However, they can be a nuisance, and residents are advised to take proactive measures to keep raccoons away from their homes as they can carry diseases that can affect human and/or pet health, the department said.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
