Earlier this spring, Louie slipped out of a Wisconsin zoo and, after a few blurry sightings and motion-camera alerts, effectively disappeared. Weeks later, the NEW Zoo & Adventure Park made the breakup Facebook official, including this statement: “We believe he has made the decision to be a wild otter… and we accept this.”
Of course, animals don’t write breakup letters or go find themselves on a soul-searching road trip. But Louie’s story taps into something we humans understand deeply–the instinct to go back to something more natural, more free—whatever that means for you. For Louie, it was anything outside of the confines of his enclosure at the zoo. For some folks, it is Montana, the mountains, or bodies of water.
This didn’t happen here, but it could have. Because in Montana, people get it. There are many people here who listened to their own “call of the wild,” packed up, and started over in big sky country…some until winter hit. lol. Some realized they just watched a little too much Yellowstone. Others couldn’t bear to watch the light disappear from their office ceiling tiles another day.
Louie didn’t technically escape; he evolved. And while his former companion, Ophelia, is happily back home (and still enjoys her naps and being pampered by the zoo staff), Louie is out there somewhere—swimming in the great unknown, clearly not texting back. If you see an otter in Montana that looks like he just quit a desk job in Wisconsin — well, don’t be surprised if it is Louie!
We really aren’t that different from Louie when it comes to chasing trout and longing to be at the river.
Disclaimer: Yes, we know Louie is an otter, not a dude with a Spotify playlist and a breakup plan. But sometimes nature writes the best metaphors, and we rolled with it.
Photo credit: NEW Zoo & Adventure Park
