Marshmallow bait catches another escaped raccoon; Five trash bandits still missing

Five of eleven raccoons that escaped from a brand new enclosure at the the AquaZoo animal park in Leeuwarden are still missing since they ran off over two weeks ago. The zoo captured one of them because the raccoon could not resist the temptation of marshmallows and cherry syrup set out as bait. Another was caught sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning.

AquaZoo said workers arrived on Saturday to find the animal in a cage in the nature reserve opposite the park. It was the sixth raccoon to return. The recovered raccoons are being cared for out of public view at the zoo for the time being. The animals need rest to recover from their move and their disappearing act.

At the end of March, AquaZoo received a total of 12 raccoons from the Stichting AAP exotic animal shelter and nonprofit. A new enclosure had been built for the raccoons, but two pieces of mesh did not precisely fit.

The same day as they arrived, 11 raccoons ran off after digging a hole at that exact spot. The other raccoon remained in the enclosure.

The zoo, which is located in a wooded nature reserve, has placed several cage-style traps in the hope of catching the missing raccoons. Aside from marshmallows and cherry syrup, other bait has been used like candy, sweets and eggs, which raccoons love.

Employees of the province of Friesland and the local water authority are also involved in the search. AquaZoo's director, Jeroen Loomeijer, said that each passing day makes it less likely they will recover a missing raccoon. The chance increases that they have found a safe place somewhere else.

The raccoons have been sterilized and neutered and therefore cannot produce offspring. The animals can survive well in the Netherlands. Raccoons that previously escaped other settings now live in Limburg and the Achterhoek region in the east.

If AquaZoo does not find the raccoons, they will eventually die in nature or in another manner, such as a traffic accident, Loomeijer said.