Escaped otters cavort in the snow as the zoo's search continues

Security camera footage shows two otters escaping a zoo during a winter storm in Green Bay. Zoo staff are encouraging locals to report sightings of the otters.

Two river otters, Louie and Ophelia, weaseled their way out of their Wisconsin zoo enclosure last week during a winter storm, appearing on security camera footage cavorting across the snow, as the search continued Tuesday.

The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park said the two North American river otters escaped through a small hole that they enlarged in a buried fence, and their flight was quickly noticed by zookeepers on their morning rounds.

But Louie and Ophelia don’t appear to have gone far, their tracks showed them exploring nearby bodies of water and returning to the zoo’s perimeter now and again, the zoo said in a news release.

Footage released by the zoo shows an otter leaving the stoop of a building and launching itself into a belly slide on the snow, its forepaws snapping to its side, nose leading the way and back legs thrusting for an extra boost.

It’s the undeniable “bounce, bounce, sliiiiide” of the otter, the zoo said in a Facebook post, and creates one of the more recognizable mammal tracks.

Louie and Ophelia are expected to stay close because otters are territorial creatures, the zoo said, adding their species are native to the area and capable of surviving, with the local ponds and streams offering food and shelter.

Search efforts include a hired tracker, motion-activated cameras and public calls to send in photos and video of sightings of the critters.

Reports of Louie and Ophelia have come in, along with some videos and photos, since their escape. One, which appears to be security camera footage, shows an otter gliding over the snow in a wooded area, its tail following the rut its body made in the snow.

Searchers are hoping Louie and Ophelia are seen in the same location at least twice, giving the zoo a place to search. The zoo said the otters are not a danger to the public, and likely wouldn’t approach a human.

Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press