THE elusive lynx that escaped from Dartmoor Zoo and evaded capture for almost a month was found safe and sound on Friday.

Flaviu was reported missing from the zoo on July 7, which triggered a widespread search involving police, trackers, helicopters and drones. He was captured on Friday evening after reports of four sheep being savaged. The head tracker knew that big cats tend to return to the scene of a kill and so removed the carcasses and set a humane trap in the same spot.

A spokesperson for the zoo said: ‘After recent reports of Flaviu’s hunting activity, Dartmoor Zoo’s head trackers, animal staff and search volunteers were able to strategically place the humane traps in a nearby location. This proved to be a successful move, with Flaviu entering the trap and being captured just before midnight on Friday.

‘Flaviu was sedated and then transferred to Dartmoor Zoo at 1am, where he currently seems to be settling down well. Unfortunately Flaviu will be off show under quarantine conditions for the next few weeks but our team is working on a live video feed to enable members of the public to see our elusive resident. We are all delighted to see Flaviu back at Dartmoor Zoo safe and sound and would like to thank everyone involved for all their time and effort in this operation.’