A rather big cat at the Isle of Wight Zoo in Sandown managed to escape from its enclosure last week, Island Echo can reveal.
Concerned individuals got in touch with Island Echo after learning of the escape of 1 of 3 Eurasian Lynx housed at the zoo on Tuesday 8th December.
It’s claimed that the Lynx was found to be out of its enclosure at around 15:00 and that it took over 6 hours to recapture the animal.
The Isle of Wight Zoo has confirmed in a statement that whilst a Lynx did escape its enclosure, at no point could it have left the confines of the zoo at Culver Parade. The incident took place after the zoo had closed to the public.
A spokesperson has said:
“After closing, one of our Lynx moved from one enclosure to another. At no stage was there any opportunity for the animal to leave the confines of the zoo and nor did it represent any threat to the public or our staff”.
The Council says an inspection of the zoo carried out just 4 days later was ‘informal’ and had been arranged prior to the incident.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has said:
“The Isle of Wight Zoo have an animal escape policy and retrieval procedure which is a mandatory condition on the licence.
“This was implemented by the Zoo, with the outcome of the lynx being recaptured. They subsequently notified the Licensing Authority within 24 hours of escape, which is another requirement of the licence.
“Following an escape, a documented review with learning outcomes is conducted by the Operations and Animal Manager at the Zoo. An informal inspection (unrelated to the incident and arranged before the incident took place) occurred on Friday 11th December.
“At the time of the inspection the Isle of Wight Zoo was compliant with the conditions of the zoo licence. The conclusion and documented investigation will be kept on file by the Zoo and will be made available to inspectors at any time if requested.”
UPDATE – Although not stated in the statement provided to Island Echo, the zoo has confirmed that the animal was out of its enclosure for 4 hours and escaped at around 16:00.
shouldn’t be a zoo in the first place – those lynx belong in their natural habitats, not in some prison created by humans to gawp at them
So you are saying it should be released so somebody can shoot it and turn it into a handbag?
Well guinea pigs should be kept in cages in that case, so you should be released. Animals in properly run zoos help generate interest in the public to preserve them in their wild habitat.
@guinea pigs, why don’t you do some research before making ignorant comments? Most of the big cats in the zoo have been rescued from captivity and horrifically cruel conditions, they are unable to fend for themselves and cannot be returned to the wild as they are used to humans.
The cats at the zoo are mostly rescued from circus so are unable to be released back into the wild ! They do an amazing job looking after them
All the big cats are rescue ones and the zoo is heavily involved in conservation work.
True. They are not allow to take animals from the wide anymore. These animals would not be able to function in the wide. They have to some extent been domesticated. I would prefer there be no need for zoos. Unfortunately the selfishness of humans has driven these species to extinction.
Took 6 hours to recapture? Why didn’t they shake a box of cat nibbles and shout “Here kitty, kitty”? Works for our moggy.
Let’s be honest, being chewed by a big cat would be a fitting end to 2020
yes – IE need to ensure that they only censure content that would be deemed to be illegal – not someones lawful and rightful opinion. IE need to be independent and impartial at all times
Poor fur baby, hope they are ok after there big adventure, we will be up to see you soon x
The zoo was closed to the public; it does appear they were compliant with their licence and the animal concerned would be not be able to escape from the zoo grounds.
Obviously staff had been slack in their security, what would have happened if it had been a tiger that escaped when public visiting.
The tiger would’ve been put down for licking someone. Safety policy but friendly kitty’s really
Its a lynx. Its not a big cat. And is probably harmless unless u are a rabbit or small deer and it happens to be hungry.