Wisconsin Zoo Lets Escaped Otter ‘Make Decision’ to Be Wild

Otters are on my personal "Mount Rushmore" of favorite animals. They got cute little faces, and they're unpredictable insofar that you never quite know what they're going to do whether by themselves or in the company of a peer. I've spent an upwards of 10 minutes watching the adorable River Otters at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

That said, I'm truly proud of a cute little otter who recently escaped a Green Bay, WI zoo, and successfully remained so elusive that the zoo has made the decision to let the otter be wild and call the world his home.

On March 20th, the New Zoo & Adventure Park in Green Bay, WI revealed that two otters, Louie and Ophelia, escaped from their enclosure during a snowstorm. It took over a week, but Ophelia was recaptured and returned to the zoo on April 2nd. Louie, however, was harder to track down:

New Zoo & Adventure Park made a post on social media updating folks on the search and revealing that they have made the decision to let Louie be wild:

At no point during his time away has Louie been spotted (and reported to us) repeatedly in the same yard or waterway, which is what would have been required to set traps to bring him home. We did, however, receive enough reports of sightings in similar areas that lead us to believe that he is healthy and surviving well - per The New Zoo & Adventure Park on Facebook

Louie was born in the wild, so he's no stranger to a world outside the confines of the zoo. The zoo have conviction that he has all the necessary skills and instincts he would need to survive on his own. However, it's just a little sad to think he won't have Ophelia by his side.

Come to think of it, this whole setup is ripe for a Disney movie, and I'm not talking about a live action one either. I'm talking about a classically animated, retro-minded fantasy adventure ala greats like The Road to El Dorado, or even Amblin's The Land Before Time.

Rest assured, the zoo added that they would be taking the next steps in finding a new mate for Ophelia. Here's hoping Louie doesn't return to rescue his previous mate and bring her into the beautiful world.

Read more about Louie, an otter who escaped from the New Zoo & Adventure Park in Green Bay, WI, on UPI's website.