Name: Video: Escaped otters cavort in the snow as Wisconsin zoo's search continues
Description: A Wisconsin zoo said two river otters, Louie and Ophelia, weaseled their way out of their enclosure last week during a winter storm, as the search continued Thursday.

Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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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 Thursday.

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 officials said.

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.

Carmen Murach is the director of the NEW Zoo & Adventure Park. She said so far Louie and Ophelia have stayed close because otters are territorial creatures; their species are native to the area and capable of surviving, with the local ponds and streams offering food and shelter.

“We’re really not worried about their welfare,” Murach said. “The area around the zoo is practically an otter paradise, and this is the kind of weather they tend to enjoy.”

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

Efforts to lure the two into a live trap with food have proven to be unsuccessful so far. 

“They seem to be successful enough in finding their own food that they haven’t found the need to go for the food in the traps so far,” Murach told MPR News.

However, the traps have been successful in catching some other creatures interested in the free food, like raccoons.

Murach remains hopeful that they’ll be able to return the two to the zoo soon.

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A Wisconsin zoo said two river otters, Louie and Ophelia, weaseled their way out of their enclosure last week during a winter storm, as the search continued Thursday.

An otter runs in the snow, caught on a security camera.

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

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