Seven raccoons still at large in Leeuwarden after zoo escape

Seven of the 11 raccoons that escaped from the AquaZoo in Leeuwarden last week are still at large. Several specialists are helping search for the animals, AquaZoo director Jeroen Loomeijer told Hart van Nederland. He expects to find the little fugitives and is not worried about their survival in the surrounding terrain.

“The longer they are loose, the larger the search area becomes. But next door is a large camping area, where they can hide well,” Loomeijer said. “The area is also extremely suitable for them because of the forest and shrubs. They’ll adapt well.”

Raccoons are mainly active at night, so the zoo is also searching with night cameras. “Then they look for food and a place to sleep.” Two of the four raccoons that have been recovered were also found at night.

Eleven of twelve raccoons escaped from AquaZoo on March 25, only hours after their arrival at the Leeuwarden zoo. Employees discovered the zoo break the next day. Two of the raccoons were recovered that same day, a spokesperson for the zoo told Omrop Fryslan. “One was sleeping in a tree, the other was between bamboo trees.”

The third raccoon was found during the night from Thursday to Friday. It got trapped in a catch cage. The fourth raccoon was found in a tree during the night from Friday to Saturday. Zoo employees sedated the animal and returned it to the enclosure.

AquaZoo placed extra mesh in the raccoons’ enclosure to prevent the recovered animals from escaping again, a spokesperson told NU.nl. The five raccoons currently in the enclosure are all doing well.