An exotic rainforest creature has been spotted in a back garden near the banks of the Thames in Marlow – two years after the first sighting in town.

An animal believed to be a coati – a member of the raccoon family native to South America– was spotted in the Gossmore area on Saturday, but escaped despite concerted efforts to capture it.

Startled residents first noticed the animal in their garden, and thought they had a bear roaming around their property before it was identified as the South American omnivore.

It is not the first time the coati has surfaced in Marlow – with the BFP reporting a sighting in Fennimore Wood by a group of ramblers in 2013.

Animal hospital Tiggywinkles sent out a rescuer to try and catch it.

The charity’s head nurse, Clare Campbell, said: “We sent out rescuer out to a suspected bear sighting, and at first we were treating it as a badger. He was told by the residents that it was a bear.

“He is one of our more intrepid rescuers and would have attempted to rescue it has he seen it. From the video footage we believe it’s a coatimundi, which is part of the raccoon family.

“He went round to scout the area, we have heat sensitive binoculars and spent a number of hours on site. We are regularly going back and forth and responding to calls.”

After the first sighting in 2013, Lord and Lady McAlpine said there could be two coatis roaming free after escaping from their Fawley Hill estate.

Coatis are native to South, Central and parts of North America. As omnivores, they consume both plant and animal matter but primarily eat insects.

There were doubts over whether the creature could fend for itself in the UK climate, with the RSPCA saying it could “struggle to survive” in colder temperatures.

And an animal believed to be a coati was found dead in Maidenhead a month later, before Sunday’s sighting confirmed there is still at least one coati alive and well by the Thames.

Marlow has a growing reputation for bizarre wildlife, after numerous sightings of a capybara – the world’s largest rodent – along the Thames banks.

Although it has not surfaced since last year, the dog-size South American animal has become a feature in town, regularly grazing on the front lawn at the Compleat Angler hotel.

Ms Campbell said the coati would be one of the more bizarre animals she has encountered at the Haddenham-based wildlife hospital.

But the nurse insisted the team could help the fugitive creature, stressing that wild animals can be difficult to contain.

She said: “It’s incredibly unusual. We are privileged that there are a number of private collectors [of wild animals in the area.

“It’s up to individual people, but like with any animal you must provide the enclosure that meets their needs. Most animals that aren’t domesticated will eventually make a bid for freedom.

“As long as it remains mild it should be ok, if it has been in the wild a while then it is probably used to the climate.

“We will take it in a make sure it is fit and well, we’re used to feisty animals and have equipment and enclosures here to deal with it.”