Popular Isle of Wight attraction raccoons in good health after escape

Five raccoons, all sisters, arrived at the zoo on October 8 as rescue animals — named Winnipeg, Myrtle, Dakota, Alma and Marion.

All of them are 18 months old and named after places in North America, where raccoons are native to.

Just over three weeks resident at Amazon World, during the early hours of Thursday last week (October 31), four of them had made the 'Great Escape' from their 'off show' enclosure.

One of the cheeky escapees from Amazon World Zoo Park in Newchurch. (Image: Rachel Patrick) The only one which chose to stay put was Marion. 

Rachel Patrick, the head keeper at Amazon World Zoo Park, said of their retrieval: "It is fantastic — a massive relief after they got out. It has been a bit traumatic for the raccoons too.

Read more: Popular Isle of Wight attraction says final runaway raccoon caught

"We caught the last female at 2.30am yesterday (Wednesday), but there was a team of five of us keeping watch for about seven hours before we could do that.

"A huge thank you to the dedicated staff, their drive and determination to get them back — many working 18-hour night shifts into every night — and the Island for its support too, with drones, thermal cameras and sniffer dogs.

"We were waiting for them to complete their 30-day isolation period, before announcing their arrival.

"Then one night they broke through two layers of roofing in the enclosure and somehow managed to squeeze through a hole about 4in wide."

Read more: Four raccoons escape from popular Isle of Wight attraction

Over the course of a week, with none of the raccoons straying any further than the Amazon World perimeter, they were eventually caught.

The raccoons are eating well after a bit of an ordeal. (Image: Rachel Patrick) But as they are nocturnal animals, raccoons only came out at night, leaving Amazon World staff keeping watch over long shifts.

Meanwhile, Islanders rallied round to help using thermal cameras, drones and sniffer dogs in the vicinity of Amazon World. 

At around 11am last Friday (November 1), the first of the runaways was caught, the second was captured on Saturday evening on top top of parrot perches, the third on Monday and the final escapee, during the early hours of Tuesday. 

Rachel added: "They've all been thoroughly checked over. They are in good health, with no injuries. They're absolutely fine.

"The raccoons are all eating well and are a lot calmer now.

"They will now start their 30-day isolation period again, but won’t move 'on show' until the middle of December, at the earliest."