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Shoushan Zoo admits raccoon pair escaped

Two raccoons at the Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung have proved that life does imitate art, fleeing their enclosure just like a scene from the animated film Madagascar.

Several local news channels, including ETTV and FTV, quoted a zoo staffer yesterday saying that a male and female raccoon dug a hole next to a wall in their enclosure about a week after arriving from the Hsinsen Zoo in Changhua in March.

The man said he was surprised to find a deep hole in the enclosure and that the pair had fled.

Chen Po-tsai (陳柏材), an official at the zoo, confirmed the report to the Taipei Times yesterday.

He said zoo staffers had tried for more than a month to lure the raccoons back using food, but only the female has been recovered.

Chen said it was very difficult for the zoo to keep track of the male because raccoons are nocturnal animals.

He said the zoo was not worried about the raccoon being attacked by monkeys in nearby Chaishan because "the monkeys are only interested in fruit."

The zoo was required to check the species and number of its animals after it was found to have mistakenly identified a Nile crocodile -- the same reptile that bit off the left forearm of veterinarian Chang Po-yu (張博宇) on April 11 -- and that it had "married" two female elephants five years ago.

Chen said the zoo has conducted a thorough review of its inhabitants.

Three years ago it had 651 animals and 84 species, while this year it has 534 animals and 81 species.

"Many of the animals died of old age or illness," Chen said, adding that most of the deaths had been among birds.

"If four animals die every month, that would amount to about 50 animals a year. Therefore, 100 or so deaths over the past three years was a reasonable decrease," he said.

Kaohsiung City Economic Affairs Bureau Director Jason Hung (洪富峰), whose office oversees the zoo, said the zoo would confirm its animals and species by September.

"I hope the zoo can eventually design ID cards for each of its animals," he said.
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