British police were called in to help wrangle a wolf that escaped from a Devon wildlife refuge.

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The family that runs the Dartmoor Wildlife Park told The Times of London the wolf was "a cowardly scavenger" and not a threat to the community.

But that did not mean residents were not scared out of their wits, the newspaper said Saturday.

Leslie Walker, 44, called authorities with the wolf sighting.

"The kids started screaming and saying 'mummy, that's a wolf,'" she told the Times. "It was bigger than a German shepherd and had really long legs. It looked scruffy but lean and quick on its feet."

The wolf was found in a quarry and shot with a tranquillizer dart and returned to the park.

The last incident on record from the Dartmoor Wildlife Park was when a jaguar escaped and jumped into the tiger enclosure, the Times said.