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Paddleboarder fends off bag-snatching raccoon in Florida

By Ben Hooper
Janna Breslin fights a raccoon for ownership of her bag of food and clothing during a paddleboarding trip in Florida's Weeki Wachee Springs. Screenshot: JukinMedia
Janna Breslin fights a raccoon for ownership of her bag of food and clothing during a paddleboarding trip in Florida's Weeki Wachee Springs. Screenshot: JukinMedia

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Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A woman paddleboarding in Florida was recorded struggling with a sneaky raccoon that climbed onto her board and tried to steal her bag of food and clothing.

Janna Breslin posted a video to YouTube that was recorded by a friend during their paddleboarding trip in Weeki Wachee Springs.

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The video shows the raccoon wading in the shallow water before quickly running over to Breslin's paddleboard.

Breslin laughs as she tries to hold the raccoon back with her paddle, but she screams and jumps off the paddleboard when the tenacious animal makes it onto her board.

The raccoon grabs hold of Breslin's bag, which she said contained food and her clothes, leading to a tug-of-war with the shocked tourist.

Breslin ends up fending off the raccoon, which swims away in defeat, leaving the paddleboarders stunned and amused.

"Probably the highlight of my Florida trip," Breslin wrote in the video's description.

"I guess you could say I'm protective over my food. still can't believe that actually happened!!! Yesterday was my first encounter with a wild and very curious raccoon. This is at Weeki Wachee Springs in FL.

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Disclaimer: I'm not happy I had to bonk him on the head, I tried to nicely keep him away from me and my things but once I felt he was not going to let go of my clothing and food, I made a split decision to make sure my belongings were safe. As you can see he swam away and was totally fine. We even saw him walking around an hour later and tried to come up to us again haha."

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