Amersfoort zoo was temporarily closed on Monday after two wolves escaped from their enclosure.

Entry gates were closed to new visitors and those on site were told to stay indoors while zoo staff tracked down the pair.

Eyewitness Eric Bax told RTL Nieuws he spotted one of the wolves while he was visiting with his girlfriend and two-year-old son. ‘Suddenly we saw a wolf walking through the bushes. I grabbed my son and ran off,’ he said.

‘My girlfriend call the police straight away and together with some other visitors we put up a barricade.’

Dierenpark Amersfoort said it would investigate how the wolves managed to escape the fenced-off area.

‘The situation has been brought under control,’ a spokesman said. ‘The two animals were isolated, sedated and taken back to their enclosure.

‘A wolf is not dangerous to visitors. They don’t attack people. We asked our visitors to go inside and ensure the situation was as calm as possible so that we could bring the situation to an end.’

It is the second time in less than a year that wild animals have escaped in Amersfoort Zoo. Last November two chimpanzees, Mike and Karibuna, were shot dead after slipping out of their enclosure.

The management evacuated the site on that occasion and killed the chimps because of the risk to staff and visitors. An investigation found that the caged area had not been securely locked or checked. Two other apes also escaped but were lured back into the cage with food.