Fourth and final runaway raccoon found after escaping zoo on Isle of Wight

The fourth and final raccoon has been found and returned to its compound at an Isle of Wight zoo after the group escaped last week.

The group of sisters, who are all new to Amazon World Zoo Park, in Sandown, managed to get out of their enclosure in the morning on Friday (1 November).

Since racoons are nocturnal, the majority of the rescue efforts have been taking place at night, with the tracker dogs and thermal drones, being deployed.

As of 2:30am today (6 November), all four females have now all been recaptured, and the zoo has thanked people for their efforts.

The zoo posted on Facebook: "We did it! At 2.30am the fourth and final escapee is back with her sisters."

The first racoon was recovered on Friday night in Newchurch, close to the zoo’s grounds, while the second was discovered near to the parrot enclosures on Saturday night.

The third racoon was found on Monday, but the zoo did not give details of where she was caught.

The zoo issued a "huge thank you to all the staff" for their "huge team effort" and now that they have all been recovered, "the whole team can breathe again."

The team has also said on its Facebook posts to its followers, "thanks for support and kind messages from all across the world."

Staff at the zoo had previously said the animals are not dangerous but could be easily frightened if they come into contact with people.

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