Car wash workers were stunned to discover a cute groundhog inside the bumper of a motor.
The female driver took her vehicle to be cleaned thinking that a bird was stuck in her front grille.
Workers looked at the bumper and quickly realised it wasn’t a bird, but a cute groundhog warming itself up near the engine.
Staff members at Mike’s Car Wash in Fort Wayne, Indiana, US, then took the vehicle to a mechanic’s workshop next door.
At the Jiffy Lube workshop, workers contacted Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control for help.
Meanwhile, employees started to disassemble the car’s bumper to reach the furry rodent.
Jiffy Lube manager Dalton Brenneke told local media: “It was definitely an odd day at work, the last thing I expected was to be pulling apart a front bumper to remove a groundhog.
“He was cute, but definitely mad that we were trying to take him from his warm home.
“We ended up having to take off the front skid plate to give him room to leave the engine bay.
“After we got him out, he ran to the back of the car and hopped up in the rear suspension.
“We had to take off the left rear tyre to get him out!”
Nicknamed Mike by rescuers, the groundhog was eventually taken away by a FWACC official to be checked for possible injuries.
Brenneke said the driver was not charged for removing the groundhog from her vehicle.
However, the troublesome animal had chewed its way through some wires that required $500 (£409) of repairs.
One local resident joked: “How’d he expect to find a shadow in there?”
Chrissy commented: “He’s so cute.”
Vanessa said: “This made our local news!”
