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Zoo officials seek fugitive otter

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27th March 2010

Cris Ornelas

Colorado Connection (KXRM Fox 21 / KXTU CW 57), Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A fugitive otter from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ) is still on the run.

Kitchi is a North American river otter. He and three other otters made a break for it on Thursday when they wriggled out of their enclosure at the zoo.

Zoo officials were able to recapture three of the four, but Kitchi thumbed his nose at authorities and is believed to be laying low somewhere near the Broadmoor golf course.

Zoo officials say there have been sightings of the outlaw otter. But so far Kitchi has managed to avoid their dragnet.

Authorities say the fugitive weighs 25 pounds and is about four feet long with a dark brown coat and a distinguished white muzzle.

“We’ve been searching a couple of different areas that we had sightings yesterday on," said CMZ spokesman Sean Anglum.

The escapee is not a threat to pets in the area. People have nothing to fear as long as they don’t try and corner the otter. But any nearby fish will be considered delicious and are in grave danger.

A search team spent the day combing the Broadmoor golf course, or as Kitchi likely sees it, a giant playground.

"One area was a culvert ,a fairly long culvert, on the Broadmoor golf course and with the help of  Colorado Springs Utilities and the fire department we put a robot camera down in that culvert. It was about 600 feet long," Anglum said.

But the AWOL-otter slipped away.

Then search team got another tip.

"We picked up some fresh tracks earlier this afternoon. We have some teams of trackers out checking out those," Anglum said.

This is the natural habitat of the North American river otter, an animal that was once extinct in Colorado.

So while the zoo would like to get him back, they say Kitchi is in no danger.

"This could be his spring break -- actually no pun intended -- he is probably doing quite well," Anglum said.

Zoo officials now suspect Kitchi's run for freedom has taken him beyond the Broadmoor golf course. And they say reports of sightings from the public are more important than ever.

The following is a press release from the Cheyenne Mountain zoo on how the public can help.

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March 27, 2010 – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s search for the missing North American river otter has now spread beyond the Broadmoor Golf Course area. The Zoo wants residents to know that your help is now needed more than ever with reports of otter sightings. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has now established a 24-hour OTTER HOTLINE, where the community can register sightings with the Zoo. If anyone spots the otter or observes evidence that the otter has been in your area, the Zoo asks that you do not approach the animal, but call the OTTER HOTLINE number at 648-7348 to make your report. Time of day and direction the otter was traveling in and/or type of evidence left behind is of importance in making the report to the Zoo. If the reporting person is able to take still photos or video of the otter, that will definitely help in the search.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo wants to assure the community that their pets and family members are safe if they do not provoke or corner the animal, but koi or other ornamental fish in decorative ponds are at risk. North American river otters are indigenous to Colorado, so the current spring weather in the area should be of no concern to the 25-pound aquatic mammal.

Zoo staff members have again today been combing the area adjacent to the zoo, searching for the river otter, described as nearly four feet long, from nose to tip of tail, dark brown in color with a nearly white muzzle. The Zoo asks everyone in the area to check their ponds and water features on their property for evidence of the otter, especially if the ponds hold fish. This evidence includes dead fish, fish remains and tracks from the otter.

At this point in the search it is of utmost importance that the community assist in the search for the lost otter. Again, the zoo’s OTTER HOTLINE number is 648-7348.