Thursday, 7 July 2016

Flaviu the Lynx escapes from Dartmoor Zoo

Flaviu the Carpathian Lynx
At 10am this morning, 7th July 2016, Keepers at Dartmoor Zoo found that newly arrived Flaviu the Lynx had escaped from his new home at Dartmoor Zoo.

2 year old Flaviu arrived at Dartmoor Zoo last night, 6th July from Port Lympne and was settled into his new house at 7.30pm. 

The house into which he was released has successfully held Lynx for 8 years, however he managed to escape by chewing through a board in the wall of the house. 

This was discovered at 10am this morning when Keepers came to release him. A search party immediately set out and quickly established that it was extremely unlikely for the Lynx to still be on site and the local police and Radio Devon were informed at 10.20am.

Our main concerns now are for the safety of the public and for the welfare of Flaviu. He is extremely timid and his instinct will be to stay away from people so we are asking the public to be vigilant and inform the police on 999 if they see him.

Search teams are being organised for the local area and we have humane traps which we will be laying out in the vicinity. These are of ample size to fit a Lynx and will not hurt him. They will contain various types of meat from specialist suppliers to tempt him and the door will then close behind him, trapping him unharmed where he can safely be returned to the Zoo.

We will keep this blog updated so keep an eye out here for any more news.

Thank you to everyone for their support and we hope he will safely found soon.

UPDATE: 9.50pm - we can confirm that we've had a positive sighting in the area that we expected him to head and are hopeful of a positive conclusion within hours.
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19 comments:

  1. Unknown7 July 2016 at 07:04

    Good luck guys, I shall be keeping an eye out in the fields over the back of Lee Mill. Due to their nature, do the tend to roam far? Is it possible they may try and return to their original location, similar to the stories we hear of cats accidentally being bundled into lorries and finding their way home?

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  2. Howard Almond7 July 2016 at 07:08

    Good luck. It's a beautiful animal.

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  3. Unknown7 July 2016 at 08:06

    Hope he is found safe.

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  4. Unknown7 July 2016 at 08:17

    Hoping this lovely chap is found safe and sound.

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  5. Unknown7 July 2016 at 08:40

    Hope you find him soon, he must be scared.

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  6. adam77 July 2016 at 10:37

    Why would he be a danger to the public? A lynx will flee humans if it can. Attacks only if cornered.

    Thousands of lynxes in Europe, also near populated areas nowadays

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  7. Unknown7 July 2016 at 12:20

    Good luck hope he is soon home safe and sound xx

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  8. Unknown7 July 2016 at 12:24

    It might be worth contacting a guy called Frank tunbridge. Local west country big cat expert and uk big cat enthusiast and tracker.

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  9. Unknown7 July 2016 at 13:04

    Hope he's found safe & sound xxx

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  10. Unknown7 July 2016 at 14:01

    Hope you find him safe and well, was only at Dartmoor Zoo on Tuesday and it's a lovely place.

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  11. Unknown7 July 2016 at 14:34

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Unknown7 July 2016 at 14:42

    The WAY in which DZP are dealing with this difficult situation really should be recognised. All bases are being managed with considerable care towards the animal welfare and public safety. DZP have been honest and upfront from the moment of discovery - and ALL parties involved in search plans and actively searching - must be exhausted by today and simply desperate for a happy ending.
    You deserve the public's FULL support.
    Very best wishes.

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  13. Unknown7 July 2016 at 16:01

    Keeping an eye on this blog, hope he is back home soon. So proud of you all and your hard work and also appreciate you as friends. You all do an outstanding job day in day out. Happy to do photos as long as you need or want me to

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  14. Martin7 July 2016 at 23:55

    Any update this morning? I hope you recapture him safe and sound soon. Good job Vlad hasn't had him for breakfast.

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  15. Unknown9 July 2016 at 01:28

    have you had any luck catching him safely yet?

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  16. Unknown10 July 2016 at 01:16

    is there any news yet I have been looking on here every morning but sadly no updates since the 7th I know you are busy and worried, but a lot of your supporters are also worried and eager for news as to if he is safely back

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