Raccoon rides subway, causes TTC delay

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Raccoon rides subway, causes TTC delay
The Canadian Press/Sun staff
First posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 01:15 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, February 02, 2016 02:31 PM EST
TORONTO - Toronto commuters had some unexpected company on the ride in to work Tuesday morning when a raccoon surfaced on a downtown subway route.

TTC spokesman Brad Ross said the raccoon was first spotted at around 8 a.m. on a southbound train heading towards Spadina station.

While on the train, the raccoon peaked into a woman’s bag and sniffed the feet of his fellow commuters.

Ross said the animal got off at Spadina and wandered around the platform for awhile before escaping into a nearby tunnel.

The raccoon's presence caused about a four-minute delay during the morning rush hour.
He said TTC facilities are fenced in and secured from unwanted human visitors, so he's not sure how the raccoon managed to hop a ride.

The animal's presence was not worrisome, the TTC said, despite a recent rash of raccoon rabies cases in Hamilton.

"It's a rare event, so we'll put this down to cuteness," Ross said in an e-mail.

A new Twitter feed -- @subwayraccoon -- soon had scores of followers.

One user tweeted: “Raccoon gets free metro pass. Decides to walk.”
A photo posted on Councillor Norm Kelly's Twitter account of a raccoon on a TTC subway on Feb. 2, 2016. (Twitter/@norm)



Raccoon rides subway, causes TTC delay | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun