(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Zac Efron was petrified when he heard a series of strange noises coming from his garage, only to discover a family of racoons had moved in.

The Hollywood heartthrob has been away from home promoting his movie Charlie St. Cloud over the past few months. He recently returned to his mansion in the Hollywood Hills, and couldnt work out what the loud banging and crashing coming from his outbuilding was. The young star decided to investigate, and was amazed with what he found.

Zac got totally spooked by the weird noises until he walked into the garage one evening and recoiled as a big, bushy-tailed raccoon suddenly leaped out of a box of old clothes slated for Goodwill and ran off, reports National Enquirer.

The 23-year-old hunk decided to investigate further, as he was concerned he would have to throw the old clothes away. As he began rooting through the box he found a nest of baby racoons buried deep inside, much to his amazement.

Zac immediately called for help, and the racoon family were promptly caught and released into the wild. (C) Cover Media