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Police deploy helicopter over Dartmoor in search for escaped lynx
Lynx on the loose after breaking out of Dartmoor zoo
(about 1 hour later)
Police are searching for a lynx that escaped from a zoo in Devon.
Legends of big cats on the prowl have long swirled around the wild moors of south-west Britain – but there is certainly one on the loose now after a lynx called Flaviu broke out of a zoo.
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.
Within hours of arriving at the Dartmoor zoological park, Flaviu, a two-year-old male, chewed through a board in his enclosure and ran away.
When keepers realised the lynx was at large, the zoo was evacuated and a police helicopter, tracker dogs and teams of officers and keepers spent Thursday searching for the missing animal, which is about the size of a labrador.
Traps loaded with meat have been laid in the hope they will lure the cat back. Local schools, landowners and farmers have been warned not to approach the animal.
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 were going house to house in Sparkwell, on the edge of Dartmoor, to offer advice and help with the search on the ground.
Experts said the lynx, which was raised in captivity, could still be near the zoo. George Hyde, zoo operations manager, and the police tried to reassure people that the cat was unlikely to be a danger to humans.
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.
Hyde said: “We are in a rural location so the likelihood of the lynx coming into contact with people is very slim. The likelihood is that he is very scared, very anxious and he will stay away from people.”
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.
Hyde added that the lynx was fed before his journey from an animal park in Kent to Devon on Wednesday, so he is unlikely to be desperate for food.
“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.”
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.”
Police are undertaking searches along with the helicopter, if you see the escaped Lynx please call 999. 2/2 https://t.co/HFHRbH2Jbx
Sgt Tracy Sharam, of Devon and Cornwall police, who is coordinating the search, said that although the lynx could already have ranged up to nine miles from the zoo, keepers had suggested it would most likely be hiding somewhere within a mile.
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 normally 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.
“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.”
Wolves are natural predators for the Carpathian lynx, which is also threatened by habitat destruction and illegal hunting.
The species has bounced back from near 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 twice, in 2005 and 2007. On the first occasion he was re-captured outside a local pub, the Treby Arms; the second time he was found in a quarry, shot with a tranquilliser and returned.
Before that, the zoo 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 was never found. Nobody reported a lion being missing.
Around 30 visitors who were at the zoo when the lynx escape was discovered were asked to leave and the site was closed on the advice of the local council.
The zoo’s operations manager, George Hyde, said the two-year-old male lynx arrived on Wednesday evening, and when keepers came to check on it on Thursday 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 in 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.”
He continued: “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 areas 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: “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-bred – 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 said the new lynx, who had not yet been given a name, was last fed before he began his journey on Wednesday, so would not be desperate for food.
Asked whether 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.”
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 one-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.”
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.
Police are undertaking searches along with the helicopter, if you see the escaped Lynx please call 999. 2/2 https://t.co/HFHRbH2Jbx
“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.
Keepers are planning to subdue the lynx with a tranquilliser dart once it is found before returning it 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,” said Sharam.
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.”
She warned members of the public to remain vigilant, and to be cautious if they spot the lynx. She said: “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.”
The zoo is close to Sparkwell golf course, which remained open. The owner John Nolan said: “I expect it’s more frightened of us than we are of it.”
Flaviu is a Carpathian lynx. Also known as Eurasian lynx, they are solitary and secretive animals that live in the forests of Europe and Siberia.
Rick Minter, who has written about big cat sightings in the UK, said he thought Flaviu would have a good chance of surviving in the wild. “He will have no problem hunting for mice, rabbits, pigeons, pheasants,” he said.
Minter suggested that if Flaviu had lived in the zoo for a long time he would probably linger in the area but as he is new, he could head further afield. Minter also thought Flaviu would have a decent chance of finding some of his own kind already living wild. “There have been sightings of lynx in the south-west,” Minter said.
The Captive Animals Protection Society, which campaigns against zoos, was unimpressed. Campaigns director Nicola O’Brien said: “This is one of the risks of keeping animals captive. The zoo should be investigated.”
It is not the first time an animal has escaped from the park, which won global fame in the film We Bought a Zoo, starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.
A wolf called Parker escaped in 2005 and again in 2007. On the first occasion the animal was re-captured outside a local pub, the Treby Arms; the second time it 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, sparking a nasty fight.
Most local people remained calm at the idea of a lynx being on the prowl. Antoni Piotrowski, 72, said: “I’m not worried – if it was a tiger or lion then maybe, yes, but it’s a lynx, they’re timid. It’s probably gone into the fields. My dog would have it.”
Ross Taylor, whose five-year-old daughter attends Sparkwell All Saints primary school close to the zoo, said: “It’s not the time for mad hysteria. I’ll probably keep an eye out for it in the garden.”
