Wild dogs escape from animal park

Zookeepers are searching the countryside around a zoo in Kent for two wild dogs that have escaped.

Keepers at Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury, discovered a pack of dholes was missing at 0930 GMT.

A spokeswoman for the park said they had implemented their animal escape procedure and six of the animals were darted or shot. Two remain missing.

The park has not opened to the public while the search is being carried out. All but two have been recaptured.

The animals, which are also known as Asiatic wild dogs, have a rusty red coat. Adults are about 50cm (1.6ft) tall and weigh up to 17kg (2.6st).

In the wild, dholes live in dense forest and thick scrub jungle and feed on deer, wild pigs, mountain sheep, guar and antelope.

The spokeswoman for Howletts Wild Animal Park said she could not confirm whether the shot dholes had been tranquilised or killed.

It is also not known how the wild dogs managed to escape.

A spokeswoman for Kent Police said a search was being carried out in the surrounding countryside and armed officers were on stand-by, but added the animals did not pose a significant risk to the public.

People are advised not to approach the animals but report any sighting.

Different directions
A spokeswoman for the park, which, combined with its sister zoo, Port Lympne, near Ashford, is home to 1,000 animals, said the missing dholes were thought to have run off in different directions

She added: "We're advising people not to approach them any more than they would a stray dog or a fox.

"If anything, they'll be wanting to find their way back."

The park was set up by the late John Aspinall to help protect and breed rare and endangered species and return them to safe areas in their native homeland.

BBC News 11/2/09
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7883629.stm