A WOLF was shot dead after it escaped from its enclosure at Cotswold Wildlife Park.

The wolf, named Ember, managed to get out and into the perimeter of the park and was spotted by a member of the public at about 11am on Friday.

The three-year-old Eurasian wolf was found walking towards the A361 and was shot by a member of staff.

Cotswold Wildlife Park managing director Reggie Heyworth said the energiser which powered the wolf's electric fence had failed, and that the equipment used to test the energiser had also been faulty.

He said: "I've been running this place for over 20 years and this was one of the worst days we've ever had.

"I'm really proud of how the animal capture team reacted. The outcome was totally unavoidable.

"It's incredibly sad and I just hope her cubs survive so that her life will not have been in vain and her legacy will live on."

It is understood the wolf squeezed through an electric fence, which failed to give her enough of a jolt to deter her, and out onto an agricultural field.

The fence had been tested but the equipment used to test it was also found not to be working properly.

Ember was last seen by a keeper at about 9.45am and the next time she was spotted she was outside the site at 11am.

The incident was concluded at about midday when the team made the decision to shoot her, being unable to get close enough to successfully tranquillise the animal.

Mr Heyworth said that the wolf's status as a Category 1 dangerous wild animal meant shooting her was the only option.

Earlier this year Ember had her first litter of cubs, the first wolves to be born at the park in its 47-year history.

The five Eurasian wolf cubs will now be raised without their mother, who was born in Sweden and only arrived here in Oxfordshire in October last year.

In a statement, staff members at the park said had there been any way to save Ember they 'would of course' have taken it.

They added: "Euthanasia is, and always would be, our last resort.

"However, she had somehow escaped her enclosure and had made her way to an area that was beyond the range of a tranquiliser dart, and potentially within reach of a busy road.

"The safety of our visitors, and the public, has to be our priority and our keepers were put in the unenviable position of making a decision that no animal lover should have to make."

Mr Heyworth said he hoped the wolf's mate, Ash, would raise their cubs alone as part of the feeding process involves passing on vital antibodies from parent to young. He said only time will tell whether this would happen.

A full investigation is now being carried out at Cotswold Wildlife Park and it has thanked its visitors for cooperating and their understanding.

The energiser was replaced on the day and the team at the park now use two testers when checking electric fencing.