A wild cat dubbed the Beast of Barnet, found in a Childs Hill garden back in May, has recovered well according to London Zoo.

The young female European lynx caused disarray among armed police officers, London Zoo officials, a vet and an RSPCA team who all decended on a family's garden in Hocroft Avenue on May 4 following a sighting.

Four hours later, zoo officials tried to capture the lynx but it jumped over a garden fence with the police in hot pursuit. The beast was cornered again under a stairway leading to Avenue Court flats in neighbouring Farm Road where a vet subdued her with a tranquilliser gun.

Times Group readers may recall how Potters Bar and South Mimms residents were forced to lock themselves in their own homes in September 1998 as police combed the area looking for a large catlike animal which had been sighted there earlier. There were also sightings of another 'Beast of Barnet' in the Brookmans Park area.

However, the captive lynx seems to be enjoying her new home the big cat enclosure at London Zoo having recovered fully from her ordeal.

Head keeper of London Zoo's big cat section Ray Charter said: "We've called her Lara and she's the only lynx in the big cat enclosure here so we will not be breeding her. She's in good condition now.

"When she came here she had a broken paw and that's better now. She was also quite thin but she's gained more weight and has settled in well.

"We are now considering whether she'll be staying with us for the future or moving to another zoo so she can live with members of her own cat family."

RSPCA inspector Dermot Murphy added: "We haven't been able to find out who owned the lynx but believe it was privately owned. Unfortunately, there's been an increase in people owning exotic animals and we would warn anyone hoping to do this to think carefully as they are not ideal pets in the home."

The inspector said it is an offence to hold an animal of this kind without a licence under the Government-enforced Dangerous Wild Animal's Act.

Anyone with information on the owner of this beast can call the RSPCA on 08705 555 999

• Story originally published by:
Hendon Times via This is London / England - Oct 03.01

All Copyrights are acknowledged.
Material reproduced here is for
educational and research purposes only.