Runaway big cat Flaviu is back behind bars and looking for love

ESCAPEE LYNX Flaviu may be back in captivity, but his future cubs will have a good chance of running wild.

Dartmoor Zoo owner Ben Mee has lined up a lynx love-match - and Flaviu could soon be having a litter.

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Ben, 51, hopes any kittens he fathers will be released into a remote area of Romania, part of an official 're-wilding' plan.

He said: 'I don't want to breed animals just to circulate them in captivity.

'Conservation is our key business. We've identified a young female at another zoo and hope she'll soon be keeping him company in his pen.

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'Flaviu is famous for escaping. So it would be great, and feel right, if his kits could be freed into the wild.'

The lynx, 2, was caught over the weekend in a mesh trap a mile from the zoo at Sparkwell, Devon.

Almost a month after chewing his way out of his pen he arrived home to his favourite grub - Dartmoor

pony meat - and a chance to chill out in the empty cheetah house.

Visitors will be kept out of sight for two weeks although keepers have set up a live video link to the zoo's cafe.

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Animal-lovers arriving there yesterday were greeted with the cage which caught him and a copy of yesterday's exclusive Sun story revealing his re-capture.

A police helicopter, thermal imaging drones, baited traps, a bloodhound, and more than 35 staff have all taken part in the search.

But in the end Flaviu fell victim to his own instincts. Keepers say he returned to the spot where he'd killed four lambs.

The carcasses were removed and the trap, baited with veal, was put in their place. He assumed the meat was his.

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Despite having to learn to hunt for himself vets say Flaviu is none the worse for his adventure.

Droppings show he survived mostly on rabbits while his weight is unchanged.

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'He looks a bit rangy but that's because he's young,' said Ben. 'He'll flesh out over the next year or so.

'We're strengthening his old pen and he'll be back there in a couple of weeks.

'He'll appreciate the company of a girlfriend and we're doing all we can to make that happen.'