Drunk raccoon found passed out in Virginia liquor store

A liquor store employee in Virginia was startled on Saturday to discover smashed whisky bottles on the floor of the shop and, upon entering the bathroom, an apparently drunk, sleeping and spread-eagled raccoon.

“He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything,” Samantha Martin, a local animal control officer, told the Daily Mail.

The Hanover county animal protection and shelter confirmed the raccoon was drunk and said it had since become sober.

“After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” the agency said.

Raccoons have adapted to living in urban areas to such an extent that they are now showing physical changes that resemble early signs of domestication, a recent study found. Their snouts have become shorter than raccoons living in wild environments – a trait that domesticated animals tend to develop. Other traits are smaller teeth, curlier tails, smaller brains and floppier ears.