Escaped mongoose from Manx zoo spotted in capital

A yellow mongoose that has escaped from the Isle of Man's wildlife park has been spotted in the capital city.

The animal, nicknamed Gef by the Curraghs Wildlife Park, disappeared from the sanctuary in Ballaugh last week but has since been seen about 15 miles (24 km) away in Douglas.

Park Manager Kathleen Graham said keepers had laid out traps where they know the animal was and hoped to safely recapture it.

She said they believe Gef was on the hunt for a new family and "looking to find a female mongoose".

The fugitive, thought to be called Gef as a nod to a well-known Manx fable, had burrowed out of the northern wildlife park.

The park had been searching locally, but Ms Graham said they were surprised to get a call from a resident in Union Mills who had spotted the juvenile mongoose, who was born in September, in their garden.

Ms Graham said they were shocked as that was "a long way from the park", adding: "He's not going to to find another female mongoose out there".

"So far he's been evading us but we're hoping to catch him up soon," she added.

Gef is not the first wildlife park resident to long for adventure, after a red panda called Kush made headlines in 2019 and 2020 for his escapes.

Ms Graham said mongoose were "very canny" and Gef would "eat insects, small rodents, molluscs, there's plenty of food out there for him".

She said on Gef's safe return to the park they would look to find another zoo for rehoming, where the animal could enter a breeding programme to "find his new family".

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