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Escaped wolf was deliberately set free, sanctuary founder claims Escaped wolf was deliberately set free, sanctuary claims
(about 2 hours later)
Torak recaptured after school placed on lockdown amid fears the escaped male would be shot Torak recaptured after school placed on lockdown amid fears it would be shot
Matthew Weaver Matthew Weaver and
Thu 18 Jan 2018 15.39 GMT Caroline Davies
Thu 18 Jan 2018 18.27 GMT
Last modified on Thu 18 Jan 2018 16.14 GMT First published on Thu 18 Jan 2018 15.39 GMT
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A wolf that was briefly on the loose near a school in Berkshire escaped after someone deliberately opened a gate, the founder of the sanctuary where it is kept has claimed. A wolf that escaped from a Berkshire sanctuary, prompting the mobilisation of police marksmen and local schools being put on lockdown, may have been deliberately freed as part of a protest, it has been claimed.
12-year-old male wolf Torak went missing at 7.45am on Thursday morning, leading to the area around Beenham, near Reading being placed on lockdown for five hours and fears that the animal would be shot by police marksmen. He was recaptured just after 1pm some eight miles away. The UK Wolf Conservation Trust realised Torak, a 12-year-old male, was missing at 7.45am when Teresa Palmer, the founder of the sanctuary in Beenham, was called by a friend who said they had spotted a wolf on a footpath.
Initial reports suggested that a fence on the site had blown down in a gale. But Theresa Palmer, founder of the UK Wolf Conservation Trust, said that she believed Torak had been freed deliberately. Armed police and animal specialists with tranquilliser guns launched a hunt as a police helicopter with a thermal imaging camera tracked the animal through woodland, fields and back gardens.
“When I got to the front of the enclosure I found that the gate was open,” she said. “I think somebody deliberately opened the gate. A lot of people don’t particularly believe in having animals in captivity.” But Torak, displaying none of the lupine characteristics feared, eventually allowed himself to be gently coaxed into a trailer eight miles from home, having loped through a field of sheep leaving them unmolested.
After Torak’s recapture Thames Valley police said school children were free to go outside again. “The fact he went through a field of sheep shows he never would have been a danger to the public. Now he’s given up. He’s had his moment of freedom,” said Palmer as the animal was captured five hours later in the village of Curridge, near the M4.
In a statement on Twitter police said the animal was safely detained by officers and the trust’s keepers in Curridge, 8 miles (13km) from the sanctuary. At first it was thought strong winds had blown down its enclosure fence. But on checking, Palmer, 62, found Torak’s mate, Mosi, barking in an alarmed manner and the enclosure gate, normally securely padlocked, open.
At around 8am today the force received a call reporting a wolf had escaped from a sanctuary in Picklepythe Lane, Beenham.The wolf moved to Curridge where it was safely detained by officers and staff from the sanctuary, who had been working to recapture it. She now thinks somebody deliberately opened it. “A lot of people don’t particularly believe in having animals in captivity,” she said.
Torak is said to be is a favourite of visitors to the Wolf Sanctuary. Palmer said that he did not appear dangerous at any point. Armed police and animal specialists with tranquilliser guns were on hand, but the wolf was coaxed back into a trailer without being harmed. While Thames Valley police warned residents not to approach the wolf, residents took the news in their stride. The wolves were much loved in the village, said Tony Roe, 53, a local solicitor, who learned of the escape while dropping his son off at Beenham primary school. “It’s not every day you take your child to school to be told there’s a wolf on the loose,” he said.
Ms Palmer added: “The fact he went through a field of sheep shows he never would have been a danger to the public. Now he’s given up. He’s had his moment of freedom.” The school’s emblem was a wolf and there was a lot of support in the village for the trust’s work, he said. Locals often saw the wolves being walked on leads in the woodland.
Garry Marvin, a member of the sanctuary’s education and scientific committee and author of a book called Wolf, expressed relief at the news.
“Thank God they didn’t panic and send someone out to shoot him,” he said.
“Torak is very used to seeing people. One of the keepers just called him over and put a collar on him and walked him off to one of their vehicles.”
Before Palmer’s claims that a gate had been deliberately opened, Marvin also expressed his surprise at the idea that a fence could have been damaged by the forced of the wind.
“It must have been exceptionally high winds because the enclosure is state-of-the-art, so this is really unusual,” he said.
Before it was caught the wolf was photographed crossing the lawn of a back garden at a house in Cold Ash, six miles (9.6km) from the sanctuary.
The picture was taken late in the morning by the husband of a West Berkshire council staff employee, who did not wish to be named. He said the wolf entered his back garden, walked across the lawn, and left via the front garden, without waking his cat.
A member of staff got quite a shock this morning when she received this photo of a wolf in her garden! We're pleased to hear it has been found and is being returned to the sanctuary unharmed. pic.twitter.com/Kvs4fl0Yy4
On the Wolf Sanctuary website Torak was described as a half North American and half European wolf. Torak is “a magnificent wolf, tall and proud with long legs and a handsome, masculine head,” the website says, adding: “during breeding season his deep mournful sounding howl is often heard.”
Tony Roe, who lives near the wolf sanctuary, learned of the escape as he was taking his son to Beenham primary school.
The 53-year-old solicitor told the Guardian: “It’s not every day you take your child to school to be told there’s a wolf on the loose. I took my lad to Beenham primary school at about 8.25 this morning. He’s five so he’s in his first year.
“A police officer on the gate said the wind had blown down a fence at the sanctuary and the wolf had escaped.”
He added: “Of course I’m relieved the wolf has been found and delighted that it’s ended safely for all concerned, including the wolf.
“The village is very supportive of the sanctuary, so much so that the logo for the school is a little wolf. So my son has a logo of a wolf on his school jumper.
“The parents I talked to were all pretty sanguine. The school was great. They followed all the advice and kept us updated.”
While it was on lockdown Beenham Primary School tweeted its thanks to police for keeping it updated on attempts to capture the wolf.
Thank you @TVP_WestBerks for keeping us updated this morning on the escaped wolf. We love having the wolf sanctuary as neighbours and hope this beautiful creature is returned safely soon. #ukwolftrustThank you @TVP_WestBerks for keeping us updated this morning on the escaped wolf. We love having the wolf sanctuary as neighbours and hope this beautiful creature is returned safely soon. #ukwolftrust
Before its capture wolf experts had urged the police not to shoot the animal as it poses little danger to the public. Thames Valley police was also inundated with messages from animal lovers asking police to spare its life. “Of course I’m relieved the wolf has been found and delighted that it’s ended safely for all concerned, including the wolf,” he said.
The safe capture of the wolf comes two months after Lilith the lynx was shot dead after escaping from a private zoo in west Wales. Before Torak was captured, he was photographed crossing the lawn of a house in Cold Ash, six miles from the sanctuary, deploying such stealth he did not even wake the resident cat.
At Beenham primary school, on lockdown during the hunt, staff and pupils seemed unperturbed. “We are all fine. We all know the wolves and no one is worried,” a spokeswoman said.
A member of staff got quite a shock this morning when she received this photo of a wolf in her garden! We're pleased to hear it has been found and is being returned to the sanctuary unharmed. pic.twitter.com/Kvs4fl0Yy4
On the wolf sanctuary’s website, Torak is described as half North American and half European. It describes him as “a magnificent wolf, tall and proud with long legs and a handsome, masculine head”.
The conservationist and wildlife presenter Anneka Svenska, who bottle-fed Torak and saw him again when he was three, described him as “exceptionally beautiful” and “a little bit timid”. She was relieved he had avoided the fate of another wolf who escaped from the Cotswold Wildlife Park in Oxfordshire in July and was shot dead.
At around 8am today the force received a call reporting a wolf had escaped from a sanctuary in Picklepythe Lane, Beenham.The wolf moved to Curridge where it was safely detained by officers and staff from the sanctuary, who had been working to recapture it.
Garry Marvin, a member of the sanctuary’s education and scientific committee, and author of a book called Wolf, said: “Thank God they didn’t panic and send someone out to shoot him. One of the keepers just called him over and put a collar on him and walked him off to one of their vehicles.”
Founded in 1995, the sanctuary has 10 wolves from the arctic and north-western breeds, living in four packs.
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