A wolf was on the loose in the southern city of Antalya yesterday after he escaped a zoo on Monday. Police launched a hunt to capture the animal, but it was not yet sighted when Daily Sabah went to print yesterday.

The animal was one of the tenants of the zoo in Antalya's Döşemealtı district and was put in a separate enclosure after a brawl with other wolves. It managed to break free from its confinement and headed to a forest near the zoo. A local resident reported sighting the animal some 2 kilometers away from the zoo while Ümit Yürekli, a veterinarian, ran into the animal in another area near the zoo and took a photo of the wolf. Yürekli told İhlas News Agency (IHA) that the animal was apparently "anxious" as he was probably outside a confinement for the first time in a long while. "You cannot find a wolf once darkness sets in," Yürekli said, pointing out the futility of searching for the animal at night. He urged the public not to panic if they come across the wolf and called on them to alert the authorities. He added that wolves are native to Anatolia and are not known as an aggressive species, which often comes close to areas inhabited by people.