Families were told to keep children indoors as experts warned the animals could pose a threat.
A police helicopter, dozens of police cars and armed zookeepers were scrambled after the pack of five escaped through a damaged fence.
Four were quickly recovered with two shot dead, but it took more than eight hours before the final wolf was found and killed.
Last night, the zoo in Essex was investigating how the timber wolves managed to break out.
At around 7.30am yesterday, keepers at Colchester Zoo found that the fence around the wolf enclosure was damaged and five of the six wolves had escaped.
One of the wolves returned to the enclosure and another was successfully drugged with an anesthetic dart and recaptured.
But the zoo said it had to kill the other three wolves as they managed to escape from the zoo’s grounds, posing a public risk.
Two were shot dead close to the zoo. Police, helped by a helicopter, searched a nearby wooded area for several hours before the final wolf was found.
At around 4pm, seven shots rang out as it was killed. It was placed into a large black bag and carried away by officers and keepers.
Zoo curator Sarah Forsyth last night said: ‘At 7.30am this morning we discovered that the perimeter fence of Colchester Zoo’s wolf enclosure had actually been damaged and five of our six timber wolves had left the enclosure.
‘It is not known at this stage how the damage occurred despite the fence being checked by the keepers on a daily basis.
‘One of the wolves did return to the enclosure almost immediately of its own accord, another one was secured within the zoo and was darted and recaptured and put back into the enclosure.
‘Unfortunately three of the other wolves did make their way out of the zoo, out of the safety of the zoo’s perimeter grounds.
‘An anesthetic dart can take 15 minutes or more to work. In a highly stressed or excited animal it may not work at all.
‘So, we did have to make the decision that these animals had to be shot on sight. These are wild animals, they are dangerous wild animals, they are not pets and they are in a very unpredictable situation and they would have posed a very real risk to the public.’
Dog walkers at a nearby beauty spot had earlier spoken of their concerns about the missing wolf.
Malcolm Lawrence, 62, said: ‘We saw the helicopter go up over the woods and I certainly am worried about my dog. I’m keeping a close eye on him as you just don’t know what might happen.
‘I think people will need to be careful but it seems that a lot of them are not even aware of it.’
During the search Richard Morley, of the Wolves and Humans Foundation, warned residents to stay indoors. He said: ‘I would suggest that people keep young children inside until the wolf is found. If it has been hand fed and it is used to approaching a keeper for food then it is more likely to approach the public.
‘People are at most risk if they are out on their own in woodland areas with food or pets. As with any wild animals I would advise people to take precautions.’
Five timber wolves escaped from Colchester Zoo in October 1986 when heavy rain undermined their fence, but on that occasion all were safely recaptured.
In July this year, the zoo warned the public not to approach a red river hog after it escaped from its enclosure.
(Daily Mail - Nov 26, 2013)
