Lynx hunt held up by ‘professional trackers’

EXPERTS hunting for an escaped lynx said their efforts are being hampered by “professional trackers”.

Flaviu fled from Dartmoor Zoo on July 6 after gnawing a six by four inch hole in its enclosure and attempts to capture the animal have failed so far.

Staff said they were doing their best to keep him in the area but “unfortunately these efforts are being hampered by people trying to get photographs.”

And now the zoo has said a so-called professional tracker was caught in the act trying to find the animal with his dog.

In a statement posted online on Facebook, the zoo said: “Just caught another ‘professional tracker’ with his dog, who was ‘just trying to help’ find Flaviu.

“Please, the greatest help anyone can give us right now is to stay well away from the area.”

A spokesman for Dartmoor Zoological Park added: “We really need this area to be kept quiet and undisturbed so that Flaviu does not move on.”

In 2006, a Jaguar escaped from a pen and got into a tigers’ enclosure before it was sedated by a keeper, while a year later a wolf clambered over the top of its enclosure before being recaptured.

A zoo spokesman described the cat as “extremely timid” and said its instinct would be to stay away from people.

Police launched an air and sea search for the Carpathian Lynx, said to be the size of a large domestic cat that could be dangerous if cornered, according to officers.