Supoj Methapiwat, director of the animal management division of the zoo, was responding to allegations by Nikom Putta, a coordinator of Northern Wildlife Protection Foundation.

Nikorn said earlier Thursday that the zoo authority has announced it would give Bt20,000 reward for anyone who can bring back the animals.

Nikorn said that so far, one Hyena was found in a garbage pit in a village on Wednesday and already brought back to the zoo. He said another Hyena is still at large, he said.

"This is not the first time that flesh-eating animals broke loose from the Night Safari Zoo. Previously a tiger broke loose from the zoo. They are very dangerous to us. The incidents reflected shortage of administration of the zoo authority," he said.

These showed that the animals' cages were not appropriate as the animals managed to escape, Nikom said, adding what is worried is the disease that the animals can spread to people.

But Supoj said no hyenas had ever broken free from the zoo. He admitted that a grey wolf had escaped from the zoo a month ago when it was put on show.

Supoj said villagers had been informed that the grey wolf was not a dangerous animal and the zoo had provided tools for recapturing the animal to villagers.

Supoj said the animal captured by the villagers as mentioned by Nikorn was not a hyena but was a wild fox, which did not escape from the zoo either.

The Nation