Playing hard to get: Keepers at London Zoo spend hours trying to recapture bird of prey

Zookeepers at London Zoo spent hours trying to catch this bird of prey who had escaped its owners grasp.

The cheeky bird flew around the enclosure before perching itself on a tall bush, just out of the zookeepers reach.

Zookeepers tried offering the bird - apparently called Hunter - food to coax the bird back to the ground. Eventually, a member of staff climbed the tree and grabbed the bird bringing it back to its box.

The comical scene was captured between the Gorilla Kingdom and Tiger Territory.

London Zoo has been contacted for comment.