Raccoon Sparks Panic Among U.S. Soldiers After Popping Up in Military Vehicle

American soldiers in Colorado were captured in a video screaming and running away frantically after a raccoon was found inside a military vehicle.

In footage shared by Jossie Chavez (a member of the U.S. Army), which was originally posted on TikTok and later on Storyful, a soldier is heard shouting: "Behind you!" before the panic frenzy kicked off at Fort Carson, a U.S. Army base, on June 1. Another soldier is seen holding a baseball bat near the back door of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV).

Two others can then be seen running out of the vehicle just before the raccoon scrambles out of it and runs toward the surrounding open field.

Chavez told Fox Television Stations: "We were surprised that a raccoon found a way to get inside a Bradley.

"It's really not common, that's why we were all surprised by it," Chavez added.

Other recent animal scares

Back in early May, two adult men in Arkansas were unable to leave a radio station after they discovered a snake "rattling and shaking" on a door handle of the building.

They were trapped inside while waiting for the police to arrive to provide assistance. "Y'all. This is real. We cannot get out," one of the men said in a video capturing the incident.

He was later heard shouting: "He's fixing to come in! Oh, Lord, he done came in!" while running toward the back of the room.

Earlier this week, a video of a teenager in California attempting to save her dogs from a bear in her garden went viral on TikTok.

The CCTV footage captured the brave 17-year-old casually shoving the ursine creature away with her own hands before grabbing her dogs and running inside.

Also in May, a teenager in Florida was shocked to discover an enormous alligator lying on his porch.

The video of the incident, which also went viral on TikTok, begins calmly with the teenager making a face at the camera as if something is displeasing to him.

He later turns the camera to show the partially obstructed view of a huge alligator outside his front door.

The video was seen over a million times and liked by over 820,000 viewers at the time of reporting.

A raccoon in Rhodes, France in 2020
A raccoon seen in an enclosure at an animal park in Rhodes, a commune in northeast France in May, 2020. U.S. soldiers were seen screaming and running away in panic after a raccoon was found inside a military vehicle. Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP via Getty Images

top

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Unlimited access to Newsweek.com
  • Ad free Newsweek.com experience
  • iOS and Android app access
  • All newsletters + podcasts
Newsweek cover
  • Unlimited access to Newsweek.com
  • Ad free Newsweek.com experience
  • iOS and Android app access
  • All newsletters + podcasts