Igor?: The dishevelled beaver after he was discovered in a slurry pit in DevonIt reads like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster... a fugitive makes a daring escape, eludes his pursuers after a frantic chase and then survives in the wild for more than three years.
Except this modern day Steve McQueen is brown, furry and has two very big, very sharp teeth.
A runaway beaver is recovering in a Devon zoo after spending three years on the run in the wilds of south west England.
Experts are convinced the creature is one of three beavers who made a break for freedom from their home in Lifton in October 2008.
Two were quickly recaptured, but the third - a male named Igor - slipped through the net... until last week when he was discovered alive and well, and living in a slurry pit 20 miles away.
Clean-up: George Hynde from Dartmoor Zoo with the beaver in his new temporary home
Recaptured: Igor the beaver, pictured before his daring escapeThe beavers were brought from Germany to Devon where they were living on license from Natural England - until their great escape in 2008.
The trio slipped through an electric fence, rendered useless by flooding, and disappeared into the countryside - becoming the first wild beavers in Britain since the species was hunted to extinction in the 16th century.
Two of the fugitives were rescued, while a search team, lead by owner Derek Gow, pursued Igor as he made his way down the river Tamar.
He then set up camp outside the village of Gunnislake, where a honey trap was set using the scent of a female beaver.
The great escape: Igor with his owner Derek Gow, before his escape in 2008
Gnawed: Rescuers followed a trial of destruction through Devon, before all trace of Igor vanishedSensing the trap, the escapee fled and he has successfully survived as a fugitive for three-and-a-half years.
source: dailymail
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