• In Germany, a fat rat got trapped in a sewer grate, the BBC reported.
• It took several volunteer fire-fighters to rescue the animal.
• Animal rescuers said the rat likely got stuck because of its size.
• Pictures and video of the rescue mission look intense.
• The rodent has returned to her glorious sewer home.

On Sunday, animal rescuers in Germany sprung into action when they caught wind of a rat that was stuck in a manhole cover,the BBC reported.

So, one might ask, how does a rat get stuck in manhole cover? Well, animal rescuer Michael Sehr had some ideas, the BBC reported.

“She had a lot of winter flab and was stuck fast at her hip – there was no going forward or back,” Sehr explained to a German outlet.

And thus, she was trapped. Just look at her face!

Read more: A woman discovered an Australian python had slipped into her shoe and travelled 9,000 miles with her

The mission to rescue the animal was quite elaborate. Several volunteers were called to the scene. An album on the Berufstierrettung Rhein Neckar Facebook page details the experience.

From the looks – and sounds! – of it, things got hairy. A team, yes a whole team, were called in to lift up the manhole cover and pry out the distressed rodent, who squeaked throughout the entire ordeal.

But Sehr defended the course of action. After all, it was all in the name of the rat’s wellbeing. “Even animals that are hated by many deserve respect,” he told the BBC.

So after all of that effort what happened to the rat, you might wonder. Was it someone’s pet? Did it go to an animal sanctuary? Well, it should go without saying that she went back into the sewer, presumably to be with her rat friends.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.