One wolf dead, one missing in B.C. zoo escape

ALDERGROVE - One of the wolves that escaped its enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo this week has been found dead on a roadside, and a second wolf is still missing, the zoo's deputy general manager said Thursday.

Menita Prasad said both the zoo's perimeter fence and the grey wolf enclosure were deliberately "compromised" early Tuesday, allowing the zoo's nine adult wolves to escape while five cubs stayed inside the enclosure.

All but two of the adults were contained within the zoo's property, she said.

The zoo in Aldergrove, B.C., has been shut for three days as workers and conservation officers searched for the wolves, while Langley RCMP investigate the incident as a suspected case of unlawful entry and vandalism.

The fences had been cut, Prasad said. An earlier statement from the zoo said the escape was "suspicious, and believed to be due to malicious intent."

Searchers were "heartbroken" to find a three-year-old female wolf, Chia, dead by the side of 264 Street in Aldergrove on Thursday morning, Prasad told a press conference through tears.

It's presumed Chia was hit by a car, she said.

A one-year-old female wolf named Tempest is still missing and believed to be in the vicinity of the zoo, Prasad said, adding that the animal, which was born at the facility, has a slim chance of surviving in the wild.

Prasad described Tempest as a "shy wolf" who poses no threat to public safety, though she said she could not say what the wolf might do if a person approached her. She urged anyone who sees the animal not to approach her and instead call authorities to report the location.

The wolf's prime motivation would be to get back to her family, she said.

"As a result of this senseless act, our wolf pack has lost two family members," Prasad said. "We watched these wolves grow up. We consider the animals at the zoo a part of our family."

She said the "search and rescue operation" would continue and is asking for the public's help "to reunite Tempest with her family.”

"She is a small wolf with grey brown puppy fur and white markings on her muzzle and her brow," Prasad said.

Anyone who spots Tempest is asked contact the Greater Vancouver Zoo, Langley RCMP or the BC Conservation Officer Service by calling 1-877-952-7277.

The zoo, which is about 55 kilometres outside Vancouver, is set to reopen on Saturday, Prasad said.