July 28 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers responded to a pub in an English village when a beaver went running through the establishment and hunkered down in the smoking shelter.
Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue - Midlands said a rescuer was called to the Yew Tree Pub in Norton Canes when a beaver ran through the main bar area about 8:45 p.m. and made its way to the smoking shelter outside, where it found a hiding place beneath some chairs.
"Well, this is a first," the rescue said in a Facebook post.
Linjoy founder Lindsay Newell said rescuers initially found the call difficult to believe.
"We were called about this and were a bit surprised to hear it was a beaver as we've never seen one up close and were struggling to believe a beaver would actually walk into a pub," she told the Express & Star newspaper.
A rescuer was able to coax the beaver into a cage and bring it to the rescue.
"We were surprised about how big it was, but it was a such a nice and docile creature and just sat there eating leaves as we worked out the next step with it," Newell said.
The rescue said in a follow-up post that the beaver was transferred to a specialist center and will hopefully be returned to the wild.
