Girl hoping for cuddly toy from claw machine will get residing growling animal as a substitute

On Aug 23, 2024

A kid looking to bag a cuddly toy animal prize at an arcade was freaked out when a real-life beast growled at her from inside the claw machine.

Pennsylvania girl Serenity Myers, 12, was on a trip with her grandparents at her local Duncansville arcade. Suddenly she spotted what appeared to be a live furry animal in the claw machine nestled among the colourful plushies.

“I was looking at all the prizes,” she told the Washington Post. “And I found a groundhog in the claw machine. I told Pap, and then I told Grandma, and then I told the lady who was at the counter. She didn’t look like she believed me.”

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But Serenity was right, the animal was roving around inside the cage full of other prizes, occasionally stopping to stare at itself existentially in the mirror inside the box.

Eventually the convinced child dragged over an employee at the arcade, who called in the authorities. “I could see fur here and there, and it just would pop its head up,” said Pennsylvania State Game Warden Salvadore Zaffuto, who was first on the scene.

“It was just there having a good old time, and swimming with the stuffed animals,” he added.

Zaffuto said the enterprising critter had burrowed up the chute leading up into the claw machine in hope of finding a snack. He claimed it looked quite happy up there and was probably only trapped for a few hours.

After an initially tense stand-off, the woodchuck was led away quietly and released on a “state-owned parcel of land”. Zaffuto said it was rural enough for the animal to find a suitable home, but far enough away from the arcade that it wouldn’t be tempted to return.

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