Canada zoo finds escaped wolf pups in moment of joy tinged with tragedy

Emotions are bittersweet at a Canadian zoo after a runaway wolf pup was safely located after four days on the loose, but another was found dead along a road.

Conservation officers and zoo staff in Canada have spent the last four days searching for a runaway wolf after mysterious break-in freed a pack of the predators from the popular zoo.

Opened in 1970, the tourist attraction has nine adult grey wolves and six pups. Staff did not confirm how many had initially escaped after the fence was broken, nor did it say how many remained unaccounted for.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating the break-in, but a lack of surveillance footage has made it difficult to identify any suspects.

Located outside Vancouver, the zoo spans 120 acres in the Fraser Valley and is close to a large forested area that contains a naval radio communications facility.

Animal rights activists have in recent years focused on the zoo following two attacks: one on a girl who was bitten by a black bear, and another on a staff member attacked by a jaguar.