Escaped river otter takes his destiny into his own (tiny) hands

a male river otter standing on snow — Louie the otter lived at the New Zoo and Adventure Park in Wisconsin before a daring escape in March, CREDIT: New Zoo Adventure Park.

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Since March, two escaped North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) have been leading the staff at the New Zoo Adventure Park in northeastern Wisconsin near Green Bay on an otterly wild chase.

During a snowstorm on March 20th, security cameras showed otters Louie and Ophelia leaving their enclosures. The zoo staff believe they escaped through a hole in a buried part of the fence that had clearly gone unnoticed. Zookeepers quickly noted their absence, and immediately set the stage for a high-stakes chase scene straight out of an episode of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Per the zoo’s updates “operating procedures for animal escapes were activated,” and they even called in a professional animal tracker.

black and white security camera footage showing river otters escaping a zoo in deep snow — *Early in the morning on Thursday, March 20th, North American river otters Louie and Ophelia left their habitat. CREDIT: New Zoo Adventure Park.*

The otters, however, were not very subtle in their escape. They left fresh tracks in the snow, galavanting around the zoo and beyond in full view of cameras. The pair never went very far, which is consistent with normal otter territorial behavior, according to the zoo.

“Both Louie and Ophelia were born in the wild and brought into human care through a process of rehabilitation. North American river otters are native to our area and are very comfortable and capable of surviving in Wisconsin’s climate,” the zoo reassured readers. “The Zoo is surrounded by natural ponds and other waterways which provide ample food and safe places to sleep even at this time of year.”

a male river otter standing on a rock in a zoo — *Louie the otter before his daring escape from the zoo. CREDIT: New Zoo Adventure Park*.

The zoo staff set up traps in locations where the otters were seen more than once, but like any good story, antagonistic foil characters in the form of raccoons quite literally foiled their plans by interfering with the contraptions. One raccoon even set off a trap shortly before one of the otters tried to enter it, forcing the staff to pivot toward “raccoon proof” traps.

Nonetheless, the zoo announced Ophelia’s return on April 1 (after clarifying that the announcement was not an April Fool’s joke). After two months of Louie evading capture, the zoo concluded that he had taken his destiny into his own hands.

a female otter stands on a trap — *Ophelia was safely secured with the help from Suamico Trap, LLC. She was declared healthy after a full veterinary exam returned to the regular otter habitat*. *CREDIT: New Zoo Adventure Park*

“Due to the length of time that Louie has been missing, we believe he has made the decision to be a wild otter,” the zoo wrote in its latest animal update. “We accept this, although we would, of course, welcome him home if he decides to return.”

The zoo staff explained that, given the reports of his sightings, they believe he is “healthy and surviving well.”

The only thing left to do now is find another male otter to keep Ophelia company.