By Mal Butler
Four shifty-looking ‘villains’ who were on the run have been rounded up and are back behind bars.
The ‘Amazon World Four’ racoons escaped from the popular attraction last Friday, but were caught one by one after several days of searching following their breakout.
Staff and volunteers from TrackAdog spent days searching the nearby area with the first fugitive being caught on Friday morning.
The second escapee was captured on Saturday evening, after staff managed to trap her at the top of some parrot perches. The third was found on Monday, and, finally, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the fourth escapee was reunited with her sister, Marion.
Head keeper, Rachel Partick, said the fugitives – Dacota, Myrtle, Winnipeg and Alma – were now safe and sound. She explained: “I didn’t have much sleep over the five days! The racoons clawed a hole in the double-layered roof of their pen, and managed to get out. I couldn’t even fit my arm in the hole but, somehow, they got their bodies through.
“We noticed on Friday at 8am when we came to give them their breakfast, and only Marion was left.
“They have been quite nocturnal, as they are very timid and still settling in as they have only been with us for five weeks. Usually, they come out in the day for their food.
“But, once they had escaped, they only came out at night. They all stayed on-site in the bushes in the zoo ground. I think the one furthest away was just 15 metres from the cage.
“We had a camera set up with a door bell ring and, when it came to the final racoon, we were alerted at 7pm to its whereabouts. After that we had to wait until 2.30am until we were finally able to entice her into the trap with food to be rescued.
“Once we had her safe, there were a lot of whelps and screams as we celebrated; the whole Island must have heard us!”
After coverage of the breakout on the BBC and Sky TV the charity thanked well-wishers from across the world for their supportive messages.
Isle of Wight Observer