Racoon Dog Missing in Somerset

14 September 2014, 08:18 | Updated: 14 September 2014, 08:28

A Raccoon dog is on the loose in Somerset after she went missing from a zoo near Minehead.

Staff at Tropiquaria zoo last saw Tanuki at 8pm on the Friday night but when they returned on Saturday morning they found they found damage to a wire panel and a steel bar removed.

They're worried she'll be mistaken for a badger especially during times of culling.

Chris Moiser is the Zoo director, he's telling Heart:

“The animals name is Tanuki, which is also the Japanese name for the species, she was a rescue animal that had been homed with us for a couple of months only."

"Although the arrival of the animal had been reported in the local newspapers only a few days before she disappeared, she was not on show to the public, and other than the keeping staff only half a dozen people were aware of where the animal was being kept. "

"She does not bite if approached correctly, but might bite if wrongly handled, but she is not a dangerous animal ”

Anyone with information are being asked to call Avon and Somerset Police on 101.