One of the wolves that escaped the Greater Vancouver Zoo enclosure this week was found dead by the roadside and a second is still missing, the zoo’s deputy general manager said Thursday. .
Menita Prasad said both the zoo’s perimeter fence and the gray wolf enclosure were deliberately “compromised” early Tuesday morning, allowing nine of the zoo’s adult wolves to escape and leaving five of them in the enclosure. He said he was able to stay in
All but two adults were housed on zoo grounds, she said.
A zoo in Aldergrove, British Columbia, has been closed for three days as workers and conservation officers searched for wolves.The Langley RCMP is investigating the incident as suspected trespassing and vandalism.
Prasad said the fence had been cut down. A previous statement from the zoo said the escape was “suspicious and believed to be malicious.”
Searchers who found Chia, a three-year-old female wolf, dead near 264th Street in Aldergrove on Thursday morning, were “heartbroken,” Prasad said in a tearful news conference. rice field.
It is presumed that Chia was hit by a car, she said.
A one-year-old female wolf named Tempest is still missing and is believed to be near the zoo, Prasad said.
Prasad described Tempest as a “shy wolf” who poses no threat to public safety, but does not know what a wolf would do if a person approached her. Anyone approaching her did not approach her, instead urging her to call authorities and report the location.
The wolf’s main motivation, she said, would be to return to his family.
“Our wolf pack lost two family members as a result of this senseless act,” said Prasad. “We’ve seen wolves grow up. We consider zoo animals part of the family.”
She said “search and rescue operations” will continue, and is asking for the help of the public to “reunite Tempest with his family.”
“She’s a little wolf, with gray-brown puppy hair and white spots on her muzzle and forehead,” Prasad said.
Anyone who finds Tempest is asked to call 1-877-952-7277 to contact the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Langley RCMP, or the BC Conservation Officer Service.
The zoo, about 55 kilometers from Vancouver, is expected to reopen on Saturday, Prasad said.
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