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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/07/dartmoor-zoological-park-escaped-lynx-police-search
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| Police deploy helicopter over Dartmoor in search for escaped lynx | Police deploy helicopter over Dartmoor in search for escaped lynx |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Police are searching for a lynx that escaped from a zoo in Devon. | |
| The moors of south-west England are often associated with stories of big cats haunting the wilderness, but in this case a real-life hunt – including a police helicopter, which has been hovering above the area around Dartmoor Zoological Park in search of the animal – is under way. | |
| Police searching for a Lynx that has escaped from @DartmoorZoo today. Animal size of large domestic cat and shouldn't be approached 1/2 | Police searching for a Lynx that has escaped from @DartmoorZoo today. Animal size of large domestic cat and shouldn't be approached 1/2 |
| Schools have been alerted and people have been told not to approach the cat if they see it. Officers are also going house to house in Sparkwell, on the edge of Dartmoor, to offer advice and help with the search on the ground. | Schools have been alerted and people have been told not to approach the cat if they see it. Officers are also going house to house in Sparkwell, on the edge of Dartmoor, to offer advice and help with the search on the ground. |
| The lynx, which is a similar size to a domestic dog and grey/silver in colour, escaped from its enclosure at about 10.20am on Thursday. | |
| Devon and Cornwall police said members of the public should call 999 immediately if they spot the lynx. “The animal should not be approached, as it could become dangerous if alarmed or cornered,” a spokesman said. “Officers have visited two local schools to offer safety advice and reassurance. | |
| “All children at All Saints primary school are not in school, as they are away on a field trip. Police are also working with staff at Little Orchard Montessori school to make sure they are kept inside. | |
| “Officers are also going house to house in the area to offer advice, and are assisting with the search on the ground.” | |
| Police are undertaking searches along with the helicopter, if you see the escaped Lynx please call 999. 2/2 https://t.co/HFHRbH2Jbx | Police are undertaking searches along with the helicopter, if you see the escaped Lynx please call 999. 2/2 https://t.co/HFHRbH2Jbx |
| A National Police Air Service helicopter has been deployed to assist with the search of the boundaries of the park. | |
| The escaped animal is a Carpathian lynx, otherwise known as a Eurasian lynx. It is a solitary and secretive animal that lives in forests in Europe and Siberia. | The escaped animal is a Carpathian lynx, otherwise known as a Eurasian lynx. It is a solitary and secretive animal that lives in forests in Europe and Siberia. |
| The Carpathian lynx mainly preys on hoofed mammals such as deer, as well as hares, rabbits, rodents and grouse. It avoids humans. | |
| According to the Lynx UK Trust, the cats vary in size from 31.5in (80cm) to 51in in length and up to 27.5in at the shoulder. They weigh between 40lb (18kg) and 88lb. | According to the Lynx UK Trust, the cats vary in size from 31.5in (80cm) to 51in in length and up to 27.5in at the shoulder. They weigh between 40lb (18kg) and 88lb. |
| “The preferred hunting technique is to stalk and pounce on prey utilising the dense cover of their preferred forested habitats; ambush hunting is occasionally used as well,” the website states. | “The preferred hunting technique is to stalk and pounce on prey utilising the dense cover of their preferred forested habitats; ambush hunting is occasionally used as well,” the website states. |
| “As all felines, Eurasian lynx are a highly efficient hunter, quickly bringing down prey with weight, momentum, agility and claws, then killing by choking at the throat or suffocating at the mouth and nose.” | “As all felines, Eurasian lynx are a highly efficient hunter, quickly bringing down prey with weight, momentum, agility and claws, then killing by choking at the throat or suffocating at the mouth and nose.” |
| Wolves are natural predators for the Carpathian lynx, which is also threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting. | Wolves are natural predators for the Carpathian lynx, which is also threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting. |
| The species has “bounced back from extinction”, but is still critically endangered in some areas, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. | The species has “bounced back from extinction”, but is still critically endangered in some areas, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. |
| There are often reported sightings of wild cats, including lynx, in the south-west, and it is not the first time an animal has escaped from the zoo. A wolf called Parker escaped in 2007 and 2005. On the first occasion he was re-captured outside the local pub, the Treby Arms; the second time he was found in a quarry, shot with a tranquilliser and returned. | |
| Before that, the zoo also had an unfortunate experience when a jaguar called Sovereign got into Tammy the tiger’s cage. A nasty fight ensued. | |
| In 1998 police launched an investigation after a motorist reported seeing a lion on Dartmoor. A large paw print was found but the big cat never found. Nobody reported a lion being missing. | |
| Around 30 visitors who were at the zoo when the lynx escape was discovered were evacuated and the site was closed on the advice of the local council. | |
| The Zoo’s operations manager, George Hyde, said that the two year-old male animal arrived on Wednesday evening but when keepers came to check on it, the animal had gone. | |
| Speaking in a video posted on the Plymouth Herald website, he said: “Yesterday evening we took delivery of a new male lynx, who came to us from Port Lympe [an animal park in Kent]. | |
| VIDEO: Experts say escaped lynx 'does not pose threat' and would be scared of humans https://t.co/2zrzny3W1w | |
| “He was delivered into the house into his enclosure at around 7 o’clock last night, at 7.30 he was settled into the house and he was calm. The keepers who delivered the lynx went home for the evening. | |
| “That’s the usual routine. When the keepers went to the lynx enclosure this morning, shorty before 10, they discovered that the lynx had found a weakness on the interior of the house.” | |
| “Immediately we gathered together all of the staff and volunteers on site, which is about 30 people. We split them into teams with the keepers and we did a very through search of the entire 33-acre site. The site is an actual woodland park with lots of overgrown and lots of trees and lots of places for a frightened cat to hide. | |
| “We did a very thorough search of the interior of the park and established as far as we were able that the cat had escaped. The police were on site within about 20 minutes. | |
| “We advised all of our immediate neighbours – all the farms and properties – and the police helped us out with all the local schools. They called a helicopter, we weren’t expecting much from it because it’s daylight and it’s a very small cat, he’s likely to be very frightened.” | |
| Hyde said that the lynx had not yet been given a name and they had evacuated the zoo on the advice of the local authority. | |
| He added: “Quite fortunately we are in a rural location so the likelihood of the lynx coming into contact with people if very slim. If he did, he would look to get away from those people rather than attack. He is captive bread – he has never hunted and never killed for food. The likelihood is that he is very scared, very anxious and he will stay away from people.” | |
| The enclosure had been the home of another group of eight lynx, which had not found the weakness exploited by the new arrival. | |
| Hyde added that the lynx was las fed before he began his journey on Wednesday so would not be desperate for food. He said: “It’s about the size of a small labrador so bigger than a domestic cat.” | |
| Asked if he was embarrassed to have lost a lynx, Hyde said: “It’s a challenge. Animal containment always poses the possibility that you will face a situation like this. We are prepared for these kind of situations. They are always very fluid. | |
| “The threat is very, very low. He is unlikely to pose any kind of threat unless he were put under any pressure, unless he was cornered. There is plenty of open space for him to stay well clear of people and it’s likely that’s what he will do.” | |
| Hyde said that if he had escaped soon after being put in the house he had a “good head start” but he was more likely to have gone to ground than roamed. | |
| Sgt Tracy Sharam of Devon and Cornwall police, who is coordinating the search, said that although the lynx could have ranged up to nine miles from the zoo, keepers had suggested it would most likely be hiding somewhere within a mile radius. | |
| She said: “Obviously when you get a new cat to the house it goes and hides for a while. It’s probably got the same sort of feelings.” | |
| Should the lynx by discovered, the plan is to corner it, subdue it with a tranquilliser dart and return it alive to the zoo. Vets are being kept on standby in case the animal needs emergency treatment. | |
| “We don’t want to kill the animal at all, that’s not what we are looking at. We are looking at having these people on standby with tranquillisers [who] can capture the animal so we can return it to the zoo healthy and fit,” Sharam said. | |
| She warned members of the public to remain vigilant, and to be cautious if they sight the runaway lynx. “If it does feel like it’s cornered then I think it could, if it wants to escape, get past you – it could claw you,” Sharam said. | |
| The zoo is close to Sparkwell golf course, which remained open. Owner John Nolan said: “I expect it’s more frightened of us than we are of it.” |