It's a sad ending.
One of the four gray wolves who escaped from the Ecozonia animal park, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales, on January 25, was found dead on Tuesday, north of Perpignan, on a private estate located a few kilometers away.
"The agents of the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) and the owner of the park have clearly identified" that it was one of the six wolves arrived from Estonia, specifies the prefecture.
It was Gérard Vidal, owner of a farmhouse located on the Doriane Vidal estate, between Salses and Espira-de-l'Agly, who discovered the body of the animal while walking on his property, specifies L'Indépendant.
For several days, residents had reported seeing a wolf.
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In all, six gray wolves from Riga Zoological Park arrived in the Pyrénées-Orientales on January 24.
The next day, “excessive behavior in several of them was observed, leading to a degradation of the wire enclosure allowing the flight of four individuals despite the intervention of the healer who was bitten on the forearm and evacuated ”, explained the Ecozonia park in a press release.
The other two were anesthetized before they had time to escape.
Of these four escaped animals, two were killed because they "presented a serious danger", further specified the animal park.
The last one is still untraceable.
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Wolves escape from their park: two shot, two not found
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Last week, an agent from the French Biodiversity Office shot and wounded one of the two still fleeing wolves.
The prefecture assures that it is too early to know if it is the animal found dead.
The autopsy should be performed tomorrow.
This new animal park, of 26 hectares, centered on predatory animals, has not yet opened its doors.
But, the inauguration may not go quite as planned.
According to the local radio 100% Radio website, the gray wolves still alive could be returned to Ukraine.
