Police deploy helicopter over Dartmoor in search for escaped lynx
Officers warn people not to approach animal that escaped from its enclosure at Dartmoor zoo
Steven Morris,
Damien Gayle and agencies
Thursday 7 July 2016 15.59 BST
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.
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.
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.”
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].
“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.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/07/dartmoor-zoological-park-escaped-lynx-police-search