Saint Tropez police find Russian tourists' lost pet lynx

Police in the south of France have found a lynx that had escaped from its Russian owners while they visited a ski resort near the swish Mediterranean resort of Saint Tropez. They would like to know how the animal managed to get into the country.

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Saint Tropez police recovered the cat – a serval, which is a member of the lynx family – on Saturday evening, 35 hours after it disappeared from the luxury villa that its owners have rented in the Gassin ski resort.

Aged one year and weighing 18 kilogrammes, the animal, a carnivore, was considered potentially dangerous, especially if it had spent a few days in the wild.

The local paper issued an appeal to readers to report any sightings.

The serval was found near the villa.

Police on Saturday were reported to be questioning its owners as to how they brought it into the region.

Owners need an entry/exit certificate to bring an animal that is not classified as domestic into the country.

Former film star and current animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot offered a reward to anyone finding her cat when it went missing in the area in April.

It was found about three weeks later.