Raccoon climbs 200 m up Toronto crane

CTV Toronto: Quest for a better view? A crane operator was shocked by a visit from a furry critter more than 200 metres above the city of Toronto.

A photo of a raccoon is being shared across the Internet after the four-legged bandit was caught on camera looking terrified as it clung to the ladder of a crane in Toronto – more than 200 metres up.

The photo was captured by Rob Mac, a tower crane operator in Toronto known for posting stunning skyline photos of the city taken from his storeys-high perch over the city.

Mac, who operates under the Twitter handle @SkyJacked793, posted the photo shortly before 8 a.m. on Thursday, with the caption "Wasn't me!"

The photo shows the wide-eyed furry critter clinging to the ladder that leads to the counter jib of Mac's crane. A counter jib is a section of a crane that carries a counterweight to keep the load on a crane from tipping over.

Mac said the raccoon had somehow managed to climb up 213 metres to reach the counter jib.

"This critter climbed over 700 (feet) to crap on my machine deck," Mac told CTV Toronto.

Mac said the crane was towering over Yonge Street and the Esplanade at the time. The crane is being used in the construction of the L Tower condominium development.

The raccoon managed to climb back down safely, said Mac, and is "long gone."

By 10 a.m., the photo had been retweeted 75 times, favourited 96 times and was in the top spot on Reddit's Toronto channel.