Legends of big cats on the prowl have long swirled around the wild moors of south-west Britain – but there is certainly one on the loose now, after a lynx called Flaviu broke out of a zoo. Within hours of arriving at the Dartmoor zoological park, the two-year-old male chewed through a board in his enclosure and ran away.

When keepers realised Flaviu was at large, the zoo was evacuated and a police helicopter, tracker dogs and teams of officers and keepers spent Thursday searching for the missing animal, which is about the size of a labrador. Traps loaded with meat have been laid in the hope they will lure the cat back. Local schools, landowners and farmers have been warned not to approach the animal.

Police searching for a Lynx that has escaped from @DartmoorZoo today. Animal size of large domestic cat and shouldn't be approached 1/2 — DevonCornwall Police (@DC_Police) July 7, 2016

Experts said the lynx, which was raised in captivity, could still be near the zoo. George Hyde, the zoo’s operations manager, and the police tried to reassure people that the cat was unlikely to be a danger to humans. He said: “We are in a rural location, so the likelihood of the lynx coming into contact with people is very slim. The likelihood is that he is very scared, very anxious, and he will stay away from people.”

Hyde added that the lynx was fed before his journey from an animal park in Kent to Devon on Wednesday, so he is unlikely to be desperate for food. Asked if he was embarrassed to have lost a lynx, Hyde said: “It’s a challenge. Animal containment always poses the possibility that you will face a situation like this.”

Sgt Tracy Sharam, of Devon and Cornwall police, who is coordinating the search, said that although the lynx could already have ranged up to nine miles from the zoo, keepers had suggested it would most likely be hiding somewhere within a mile. She said: “Obviously, when you get a new cat to the house, it goes and hides for a while. It’s probably got the same sort of feelings.”

Police are undertaking searches along with the helicopter, if you see the escaped Lynx please call 999. 2/2 https://t.co/HFHRbH2Jbx — DevonCornwall Police (@DC_Police) July 7, 2016

Keepers are planning to subdue the lynx with a tranquilliser dart once it is found before returning it to the zoo. Vets are being kept on standby in case the animal needs emergency treatment. “We don’t want to kill the animal at all – that’s not what we are looking at,” said Sharam.

She warned members of the public to remain vigilant, and to be cautious if they spot the lynx. She said: “If it does feel like it’s cornered, then I think it could, if it wants to escape, get past you – it could claw you.”

Flaviu is a Carpathian lynx. Also known as Eurasian lynx, it is a solitary and secretive animal native to the forests of Europe and Siberia.

Rick Minter, who has written about big cat sightings in the UK, said he thought Flaviu would have a good chance of surviving in the wild. “He will have no problem hunting for mice, rabbits, pigeons, pheasants,” he said.

Minter suggested that if Flaviu had lived in the zoo for a long time he would probably linger in the area, but as he is new, he could head further afield. Minter also thought Flaviu would have a decent chance of finding some of his own kind already living wild. “There have been sightings of lynx in the south-west,” he said.

The Captive Animals Protection Society, which campaigns against zoos, was unimpressed. Campaigns director Nicola O’Brien said: “This is one of the risks of keeping animals captive. The zoo should be investigated.”

It is not the first time an animal has escaped from the park, which featured in the film We Bought a Zoo, starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.

A wolf called Parker escaped in 2005, and again in 2007. On the first occasion, the animal was recaptured outside a local pub, the Treby Arms; the second time it was found in a quarry, shot with a tranquilliser and returned. Before that, the zoo also had an unfortunate experience when a jaguar called Sovereign got into Tammy the tiger’s cage, sparking a nasty fight.

Most local people remained calm at the idea of a lynx being on the prowl. Antoni Piotrowski, 72, said: “I’m not worried – if it was a tiger or lion, then maybe, yes, but it’s a lynx – they’re timid. It’s probably gone into the fields. My dog would have it.”

Ross Taylor, whose five-year-old daughter attends Sparkwell All Saints primary school close to the zoo, said: “It’s not the time for mad hysteria. I’ll probably keep an eye out for it in the garden.”