Published: 1 October 2012

By TOM FOOT

A BARN owl which escaped from London Zoo on Thursday night has been found dead in a car park.

The male bird took flight after it was startled by a "loud noise" during a routine training session.

It was found in the early hours of Sunday morning in a visitor car park near Regent's Park by a keeper, the zoo said. A spokeswoman said a full post mortem would be carried out by the veterinary team to "determine the exact cause of death".

Regent's Park Police mobilised the eyes and ears of Dogwatch – a group that monitors the park – "as a matter of urgency".

A circular sent to Dogwatch members said that the owl is likely to be living in Regent's Park or Primrose Hill.

In his circular, PC Carl Drake said: "When I joined the police I had no idea that I would one day be making an appeal for the safe return of a runaway owl. This along with the case of criminal damage and assault by a monkey, the lady who who got kicked whilst trying to ride a deer and the man who did himself some severe damage whilst trying to hurdle the locked spiked gates will all feature in my memoirs."