(CNN) - After weeks on the run, officials have nabbed a fugitive who infiltrated White House grounds: on Wednesday, they announced the capture of one of the raccoons raising mayhem around the executive mansion over the last month.
White House spokesman Bill Burton confirms the National Park Service has captured at least one of the particularly ambitious mammals and released it safely in an "undisclosed location."
The pesky intruders were first spotted roaming the premises early this month, and have since proved to be a repeated nuisance for National Park Service officials charged with maintaining the White House grounds.
The matter even made its way to one of the White House daily briefings with reporters, when Press Secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged the difficulty officials were having in catching the animals.
Several traps were set up around the White House lawn in early February after it was determined that one large raccoon and several smaller ones were the chief mischief doers.
The traps had included peanut butter and apples as bait, but it was ultimately salmon that did the trick, Burton said.
From CNN Politics
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Wrong picture. Doesn't look at all like Pelosi (not enough botox).
lol. Poor racoons. Thats hilarious.
Pardon them!
baiting them with grapes works better
This pest is probably a Republican looking for attention.
An "undisclosed location" eh? I'll bet you Cheney knows where the racoons are now....
Another first!
...released it safely in an "undisclosed location."
So, they gave it Dick Cheney? Maybe not, that wouldn't be too safe.
He's a bandit. . . got be from the Bush Administration! lol lol lol lol
Looks like Rush Limbaugh.
They need to be returned to Camp David, where W and his mischievous buddies caught them.
I heard Raccoons are hypoallergenic.
Salmon? Were they Alaskan Raccoons? Hmmmmmm
(Cute little feller, isn't it?)
Damn! Give Karl Rove better things to do.
Maybe once the first dog moves in he'll help keep the rest of those masked bandits away.
...oh, and don't know why, but on the first dog article my comment was "moderated" out for some reason after I said that there are two Portuguese Water Dogs in Georgia available on petfinder right now who already have names and need a home. I'll bet those two would love to chase after these guys...Go get 'em Bear and Gatsby!
And this is news, why?
There's a new sherrif coming–Obama's new dog.
I think I heard him say, "Give me liberty or give me death".
I see the racoons are eliitist like the White House occupants. Peanut butter and apples are not good enough, we want salmon!
Expense taste! Not surprising for an animal in Washington now is it?
This is actually in reference to the pet for Malia and Sasha. I think the president and his family have the right to adopt a dog from where they wish to. All of those who think they should go to a shelter should go there themselves and adopt two or three dogs.
And they want us to believe they can catch bin Laden
Undisclosed location: yeah, I know! They sent them to Guantanamo!
All they needed to do was throw a tax cut in the cage and the problem would have been solved: according to Republican creed.
They are pesky, but they sure are cute! Maybe even the animals want to come and see President Obama and his beautiful family.
How Cute!!!!! They wanted to meet the new President and tell him how relieved they are cause the last bunch kept up so much racket that their kids were picking up bad habits!!!!!!!
Dubya forgot his pets!!!
he was running /hiding form dick didnt want to get shot
Chris February 25th, 2009 6:30 pm ET
An "undisclosed location" eh? I'll bet you Cheney knows where the racoons are now….
__________________________________________
Too funny!!!
I'll bet he does too.
raising mayhem.... What kind of mayhem could a family of raccoons raise on the expansive whitehouse grounds? My raccoon visitors are delightful and quite welcome.
Good luck little guys!
@ Stan:
Nice to see a good-hearted conservative.
As a 'lib', I found that pretty funny, and I probably would have said the same had it been McCain in office.
I think it is sad that you are trying to say Obama is a Coon. Sorry, that was my inner Sharpton slipping out.
Why does bo keep lying that there is no 'pork' in either of these bills?
HE IS VERY BUSHEY MAYBE HE WAS Eavesdropping
They call that state of the art security?Next they will find some nut job climbing the fence in a raccoon costume.
I'm a cartoonist can I draw a picture of coons at the white house or will Al Sharpton get upset and call me a racist?
What is your problem CNN? This story along with the angry old White guy, McCain as FRONT PAGE NEWS on what he thinks? We don't want to know what he thinks. He lost!!!!
Could you not stand how much the American public loved the President's speech? You just have to tell us what the White guy thinks?
That is a good story. I also can't believe the amount of obvious racism on here... Some Americans are pure crap
Those racoons are really bad. Who is Keeping the white house lawns clean and pest free?
Hey, CNN, must be animal day at the White House....goodness
Bobby Jindal sure scared the living daylights out of the Liberals. CNN already airing thier attack piece online written by Candy Crowley. What a piece of garbage and the head line "Jindal Received Bad Reviews" – gosh cnn, the "bad review" was written by your girl. Goodness
No BIAS?
Bull
It's a very, very cute picture.
Well thank god cnn, now I will be able to sleep tonight without worrying.
LUCKY FOR THE RACCOON CHENEY IS GONE–HE'D HAVE BEEN SHIPPED OF TO GITMO FOR RENDITION!!!
We've GOT to get spending under control. I know Obama is really famous and really popular right now, but the spending spree is out of control. WE CAN'T AFFORD IT. Write your congressman, talk to people, spread the word. This is going to get ugly if we don't nip it in the bud.
Oh my goodness somebody needs to get the credentials of the groundskeepers. I can't believe they have been on the loose this long!
Quite frankly, I think these little critters are highly trained spies. They even look like spies; observe the masks they wear.
We all know what they are trained to say: "We were only looking for pizza crusts." But America won't be fooled this time.
Those communists will stop at nothing!
Jindal's Speech:
His speech was all hot air and no substance, none.
I think he is supposed to be there...he was elected
From the headline I thought you meant George W Bush. Lets send that littel critter to Texas too.
Did anyone try to throw a shoe at him?
Come to think of it, it really is a case of wrong place/wrong time. Puxetauny Phill comes out of his hole and gets a parade and a holiday named for him.
It was John McCain looking for the oval office. He still can't believe he lost. Go home John.
I would have preferred Sarah Palin! At least she can deliver a well rehersed speech with cheek and energy!
The last ticker about the dog is closed, but I wanted to tell everyone that the People magazine article about the new Obama pet indicates that they are adopting one and not supporting puppy mills. I want to thank them for doing the right thing!
way to go CNN, is is grade A front page material... the only thing missing from this article to make it a true cnn story is sarah palin. Nothing that cnn is better at than posting stories that no one cares about
Evil goes where evil is!!
Must be Sarah Palin still trying to get into the White House. Hahahaaa
I'll bet that coon looks like Texas Teacher!!
I think everyone has to admit that the comments here are pretty stupid. I think people really think that they are clever. Clever and obnoxious/stupid are not the same.
The raccoon is not a menace – it's soul food. The Obamas are just trying to feel at home.
These are not Raccoons, these are the Russians trying to spy on united States.
To those who made the "coon" remarks....You are obviously all sniveling cowards, if you made those comments in public you would not be around to make those comments here. There is nothing worse than a gutless sniveling coward.
Salmon??? The raccoon is eating better than many average families!
only took weeks to catch...how sad
The Democrats that post on here are a disgrace. BTW I'm a Democrat.
This is Sen. John McCain, trying to work with the white house,,,,
FUNNY.
Floyd, you must know first hand about being followed by evil. It was probably you that came and released them on the White House lawn. Tell your little friends, it's not nice to be mean, and if you can't say anything good, then don't say nothing at al!!
what a BEAUTIFUL animal.
Shades of Calvin Coolidge! When Mr. Coolidge was president, this was in the 1920s, they kept a pet racoon named Rebecca who liked to eat ice cream. He also kept a pet myna bird that they taught to say 'veto'! At least it didn't get into the White House, they can cause major damage!
Raccoons aside.... just saw on Lou Dobbs that the congress is giving away money.... pork barreling is running amok.
Oh, yes.. education is pork barrel.. at least to the GOP... They have never made any hemmhawws about their disdain for education! After all, an uneducated ignorant populace is a populace easy to control!!
CNN:
I think you should disregard any posts from people who have the audacity to read the blogs and then curtly type "THIS IS NEWS????"
Lord knows I have typed plenty of interesting, thoughtful, relevant comments that your editing staff determined were not worthy postings; yet those who cynically ask "THIS IS NEWS?", ALWAYS find a way to get their word in edgewise!
Yes, cynics in cyberspace! Racoons and Presidential Puppies are Are Worthy Conversation pieces! Dont we have enough stress in the world without having to worry that everything we read is DEEP and MEANINGFUL???
Texas Teacher!
i am just giving you a hard time....
I thought you didn't like Lou Dobbs?
Yet, we always know what is on his show thanks to your updates!!
Sarah Palin would get in Marine 1, hover above the grounds and shoot them.
Obviously the animal is lost. He should be at the House of Representatives with all the other bandits.
Pretty funny, that the White House would have the same masked bandits I see outside my porch door nearly every night.
We feed our cats out on the porch, on "cat towers" to keep their dishes out of the paws of the raccoons. That doesn't keep the raccoons from bringing their own food up from the creek and washing the sand off in the cats' water dishes. The cats and the raccoons seem to get along fine because the cats are smart enough to keep their distance.
I am an independent. Republicans have not gotten the message yet. It sounds so stupid when these lunatics talk about deficit which they created – their leader/GOD Darth Cheney still believes that deficite does not matter- ofcourse, in his great wisdom, he believes that WMD exists in IRAQ. It is high noon that the republicans start coopertaing in getting out of the mess they have created – potential great great depression.
And Media has failed miserably over the last eight years. The reporters must be on the payroll of Prince George as they had no guts to question going to WAR in IRAQ, as they had no inteliigence to question tax breaks for rich, as they could not provide checks and balance against corrossion of the regulatory infrastructure. It is obvious that integrity of free press is questionable – It is time that you in media fold your tents and go home.
A Rebulican bandit caught ! My god, its Watergate two.
I'll have to admit, I hadn't read any of the other entries in this comment section until after I posted my comment.
But from some of those comments just ahead of mine, it sure seems like a lot of people are wound up just a bit too tight.
Sheesh, is it political fall-out that so many of you seem to have absolutely no sense of humor at all? Lighten up. Take your meds.
WAS,,,,,,,,,,IT,,,,,,,,,,,WATERBOARDED ? ?
Yes I am still here. I will still be here in another, six months.
Carry-on Crapping. There is a sewer waiting for people like you.
They have been there, for six hundred years.
Texas Teacher.
We spend 10X the money on education that we did 30 years ago.
How do you solve the problem. It clearly is not a money issue.
What do you need to make teaching better. The kids in school today
are idiots and there parents dont make them go to school and learn.
What is your suggestion?
They just got the memo george is gone.
@Texas Teacher, We spend more per student on education than most developed countries and get less for it. Public education costs twice as much than private for a much poorer education. If we implemented school vouchers(like Republicans advocate), it would cut education costs and improve quality. Of course then the Dems who are slaves of the teacher's unions, would have to explain why substandard teachers were out of work. Maybe you would be one of them!
This is no joke..some sick Republiicans in NYS has 'planted' racoons near a persons property or residence when displeased....well, at least in the past some of the desperate small town idiots did this..maybe one finally bit them.
I have to admit...that was pretty good Matthew.....but you forgot one thing....'to him thim that is given much, much is expected".
Perhaps if he would prefer to be greedy he would be better off moving...then the country he moves to could take 'all' his money and later he could move back to the US a poor man and have a free drink.
They caught him because he was not a drug smuggler or terrorist. Way to go secret service!
The only menace I am aware of is the few Republicans who are left in Washington. Next year, I hope the American people bring our pest control to the ballot box and vote those idiots out!
For the opportunity to earn over 250k, I would VERY GLADLY pay a higher tax rate than what I am taxed on my earnings now.
"White House mencae caught, released"
I thought this was gonna be a story about Joe Biden.
From the picture, you can tell that this one hasn't been to the other end of Pennsylvania avenue, there were no ear marks.
Raccoons aside…. just saw on Lou Dobbs that the congress is giving away money…. pork barreling is running amok.
Oh, yes.. education is pork barrel.. at least to the GOP… They have never made any hemmhawws about their disdain for education! After all, an uneducated ignorant populace is a populace easy to control!!
______________________________________________________
So true, Texas Teacher, sad, but true
Are the democrats going to blame the republicans for this scoundrel? Do they think the masked critter is wired? How much of the stimulus is going to be used to fix this?
Wow, turns out the raccoon was well read about the peanut butter salmonella outbreak, no wonder it did not touch it...
lol
Looks like Bin Laden and a few Al Quieda followers have finally been caught. Sadly, they were released to plot again.
Amen Texas Teacher,
Ignorance will be the only way the GOP stays in control. The GOP have no one to blame for the mess this country's in. They are doing everything not to take responsibility and to impede the process of cleaning up their mess.
An "undisclosed location"...if only Osama bin Laden was that easy to catch, I'd even contribute the salmon.
But, heh, it probably WAS that peanut butter that did the trick. He was probably already crippled from eating that tainted peanut butter that he actually fell for the salmon trick...after all, who eats salmon?!???
It's called a .22 pistol. Problem solved. No more raccoons. Heck, the Secret Service has even bigger guns. Problem solved better.
Peanut butter? Where they trying to poison them?
Have to agree with Sally...obviously, no one is moderating. Mr. Schaedler your remark is horrible. Even if you are just trying to poke fun, not like that man. It is about respect. If you meant it in a racist manner, you have some good karma coming your way...
frem,
Keep the stereotypes to yourself, or take them and your hips back over to your Babbling Brook Network. Hannity and Rush are calling; please answer. You are out of your intellectual league here. How about your man Jindal? He did a great job, huh? And guess what? After his spectacular performance, he went to Disney World!
I'll bet they are in the stimilus plan
So some critters found their way on to the White House grounds? Big deal. What cracks me up is that the National Park Service people who maintain those grounds obviously didn't know what to do about it. Surely, having taken a month to catch them and transport them to "the backcountry" is not going to look good on their resumés...
It took them 1 month to catch a raccoon, things are looking good for Bin Laden...
Glad to hear they finally nabbed John McCoon. He has been acting up lately.
Floyd in New York: Racoons are evil? I thought they were simply nocturnal animals that scrounge for food ... gee, I need to get caught up on my diabolical stuff ...
Peanut butter? Oh my! Where is the SPCA when you need them?
Well, OK, one can assume that peanut butter, like all food and drink in the WH, is tested before consumption, even if only by one of these cuties...
Chaney did this on "On A Drive-By"!
Hurry, somebody call Sarah Palin......she can blast the critters from her government helicopter.
This is just a Republican in a raccoon suit, trying the "cute" approach.
Lord knows they've tried everything else.
Well – at least the raccoons had good taste!
Patsy
it was sent by mccain and republican party to destroy the white house because thats the last thing standing in America now
Maybe they heard about the peanut product recall ;0)
No wonder America is in major decline. People who claim to be patriots post racial hatred on blogs towards their President. Corruption is revealed daily in business and government. The Gov of Louisianna thinks monitoring active volcanos is wastful spending which must mean tracking hurricanes is too. People claiming to be Christians cringe at the thought of helping their neighbors though the stimulus. A sad state of affairs for sure.
They're just rodents - use poison for those rats, not traps - it's not an endangered species.
Ann, its not hard to ignore some of people's posts.
When are they going to set traps and catch BUSH...He was the biggest RAT ever to invade the White House.
They should have used the booze from one of BUSH's, half empty Jim Beam, bottles for bait..They are scattered all over the White House, and the outside grounds..The drunk hid them every where..
Calling any of God's creatures "menaces" is not right. These are raccoons who have a right to be humanely caught and placed somewhere else, if need be. Some humans are more of a"menace" than some innocent creature just trying to live it's life. Aside from any current or potential environmental issues, the attitude in this country about mammals and birds is disgusting. We carelessly tear down trees in the springtime when baby birds are in their nests, and casually destroy homes of other animals, as well. There are even thousands of new homes sitting empty from greedy builders who unnecessarily used up land.
They used peanut butter – and PETA didn't protest?
"Undisclosed location"? You mean they released in Darth Cheney's house? Poor thing is probably being waterboarded as we speak.
Way to keep the focus off of the real issues!
I wonder how much of the porkulus package went to catching them. A couple billion?
The animals are really spies for McCain, Palin and Bobby Jindal...and the raccoons are secretly named Rush, Bill and Sean.
Oh this is just too funny.
They had peanut butter as the bait!!!
They must have been trying to kill those poor racoons
I thought that maybe Cheney got back in somehow . . . .
Well at least the racoons wears a mask whereas our politicians are stealing us blind, so who' s the greater menace?
Oh dear i thought for a minute there it was John McCain thinking he won the election
Of course they were there because Barney and Mrs. Beasley left. But now that the Obamas will be getting a dog in April there will be no more pesky critters.
Apparently even Raccoons know its not safe to eat peanut butter anymore...
I'm glad they removed the little guy to safety, where he belongs. I had two very friendly racoons who were born in the attic of my house after Katrina, and I watched them grow up. My husband would feed them peanuts right from his hand. they followed us around like dogs, and we even observed them playing with objects much like a dog. They have moved on now, and I miss them.
You must be really bored.
Good job to the park service – now give them a chance to get bin laden
Great story to start out the political ticker! The implications of this one should no doubt be international in scope! Incisive! Brilliant! Thank you so much for allowing us to comment on this story above all others!
I think the menace is still loose in the White House.
For all of you people who feel sorry for this racoon, take it from someone from the South, were these creatures are abundant, they will destroy everything in their path, kill any dog you have, and try to kill you. They are vicious and dangerous.
is that racist?
people can resemble animals
certainly Sharpton's behavior resembles some animals
Why not, plenty in there already.
They sent the raccoon to Gitmo
This is what happens when you leave trash laying around. Not to hard to figure out what is going on in the new White House.
Didn't those 'Undisclosed Locations' get Bush into trouble?
He was just looking for his share of the stimulus package.
Talk about a waste of money!!!!!! A bullet costs about 10 cents add some table scraps and you would have taken care of this problem without wasting the taxpayers money.
The racoon probably heard the news about tainted peanuts so he went for the salmon.
It's not news... it's CNN.
Sarah Palin is an idiot.
It is nice that they let it loose. We caught a Possum in our yard, called the Conservation Dept. and when we came home we found the crate door open, no Possum inside, but blood splattered everywhere.....the next time we catch one, we are taking it to the State Park. We did not want the Possum, but they tend to NOT carry Rabies and they play Possum....so not dangerous, just a nuisance, it was killed unfairly.
Please CNN... stop the cosmetic ads that appear like strobe lights. The constant brush strokes distracts from reading... and that's not so good for people with history of seizure. How can one concentrate and read and understand when the brushes keep moving back and forth?
Those are just CIA agents undercover.
They caught Gingrich, now to catch Lott!!!
Personal to nanty:
"......getting a homeles person off the street."
Like Bush did, right?!
Matthew, Detroit,
Very well said.
The racoon looks like John McCain.
The first amendment insures us the right to free speech but is it also a God-give right to be stupid?
Texas teacher – I'm sure glad you didn't teach any of my college-graduated children as you sound like an absolute idiot! The coons just followed the Obamas from Chicago, poor little critters. Someone please keep them safe; the RACcoons, that is, not the coon in the house!
NASTY...We had a house plant in the White House for 8 years..It was called a "BUSH" and it stunk the White House up so bad it took a week ro fumigate it after the "BUSH PLANT" left forTexas..
Actually we would have been better of with a potted plant than BUSH ...for 8 years.