A Maryland man was left stunned after catching a pair of unlikely thieves red-handed on his porch outside his home.
In video footage captured on a Ring doorbell security camera which was subsequently shared with Newsweek, the criminal duo can be seen attempting to make off with homeowner Tim’s prized rug.
In fact, according to Tim from Berlin, Maryland, they ended up stealing a couple of his pillows for good measure too. But these were no ordinary thieves, as the footage shows: Tim was being robbed by a pair of groundhogs.
Weighing anywhere between 5 and 12 pounds and capable of growing 2 feet long, groundhogs have been known to explore vegetation around human dwellings in the hope of coming across crops or other vegetables to eat.
While they might appear cute and furry, they can pose a problem to farmers and other agriculturalists, particularly as keeping them at bay in a humane way can be expensive and time-consuming.
According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, “[t]he most effective nonlethal method to prevent conflicts with groundhogs is to erect a fence around your yard or garden.”
A standard fence alone is not enough though. “Since groundhogs are adept climbers and diggers, fencing should be at least three feet high with another foot of fencing buried underground,” they said.
Tim is no stranger to having groundhogs steal his crops. “They’ve mostly always been in the grass or the garden and sometimes eat what you are growing,” he told Ring.
Ring
This was a whole other ballgame though and something out of the ordinary, which makes the footage captured on his doorbell all the more fascinating to watch.
Tim said that the groundhogs “ended up taking a pillow as well as tearing up a few other pillows and taking the stuffing,” in addition to the rug.
This isn’t the first time an animal intruder has been caught on camera in an unexpected situation. Back in November 2022, a Nevada resident got the fright of his life after a review of his security camera footage revealed a huge bear had been bathing in his garden pond.
Across the Atlantic, in the south of England, one resident was left bemused after receiving a notification on their doorbell only to find a woodpecker was paying them an unexpected visit.
Perhaps the most skin-crawling surprise guest was captured on another doorbell camera after the homeowner was woken in the middle of the night by someone ringing her door.
Alarmed due to the late nature of the call, she checked the camera only to find something truly horrifying staring straight back at her.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
