A groundhog wanders among the stuffed toys in a claw machine next to the Meadow’s minigolf course on Tuesday. The critter climbed up the prize chute and was stuck inside awaiting rescue by the Game Commission. Courtesy photo

DUNCANSVILLE — A groundhog was successfully rescued from a claw machine next to the Meadows Original Frozen Custard minigolf course on Tuesday, after it had climbed up the prize chute and nestled with the stuffed animals inside.

According to Meadow’s partner Joe Meadows, he received a call from the minigolf attendant early in the morning on Tuesday, who sent him a photo of the small mammal inside the machine.

Since the claw machine is owned by DeLeo Games of Altoona, the key to open the front panel and extract the animal was not on site, Meadows said.

This prompted Meadows to call DeLeo and the Southcentral Game Commission to resolve the situation.

After help arrived, Blair County game warden Salvador Zaffuto was able to remove the unharmed groundhog from the machine with the help of oversized padded gloves, according to Game Commission Lieutenant Amy Nabozny.

The groundhog was released back into the wild at a local field, Nabozny said.

While Nabozny said she had never heard of a similar incident occurring in the southcentral region, she said that this type of release back into the wild is standard procedure.

“Wildlife can find itself in unique predicaments, and this is one of those times,” Nabozny said.

Meadows does not know why the groundhog climbed into the claw machine, but speculated that it may have been attracted by sugary residue left on the controls by children who recently ate frozen custard.

The Meadows has not had any other incidents with errant wildlife entering the claw machine, Meadows said, but about a decade ago a toddler found himself in a similar situation after climbing up the prize chute.

“We called DeLeo and were able to get the kid out, the kid was fine, he was just sitting there happy playing with the stuffed animals, but his mom was a little stressed,” Meadows said.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-964-7535.