A seafaring raccoon has been plucked off the Florida coast and safely released on dry land.
News outlets report Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium workers were helping an injured turtle in Sarasota waters Wednesday when they spotted the normally land-based bandit parked atop a channel maker.
Area police departments and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were called in to assist the raccoon, which initially fled rescuers by diving overboard.</p>
A video posted online by Sarasota police shows the swimming raccoon darting around rescuers before returning to the boat, where it was placed in a cooler and returned to shore.
It's unclear how the raccoon managed to get to the channel marker.
