Sydney, Australia: Five African lions have broken out of their enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo near the harbor, causing an emergency lockdown while police and expert keepers rushed to capture the pride.
The reason for the escape remains unknown. However, Simon Duffy, the Executive Director of the Zoo, called the incident “significant” which will be looked into. “At no time did the lions exit that area or exit Taronga Zoo,” Simon told.
Duffy continued to state that a perimeter fence encircled the entire zoo and that a six-foot fence, typically intended to keep people at a safe distance, secured the small area.
A keeper raised the alarm within 10 minutes of the escape in the CCTV footage, the zoo claimed.
According to Duffy, staff moved everyone on the premises swiftly to secure areas. The official highlighted that four of the lions “calmly made their way back” to their enclosure. Up until more checks to ensure that it is “100 percent safe,” the lion exhibit will remain closed.
In 1946, a two-year-old Bengal tiger at Taronga Zoo broke out of its enclosure and ran amok in what a newspaper called a “frenzy of dread” before being shot and killed by a zoo keeper.
A lion was observed circling outside of a soft drink factory, and 20 police were dispatched to the area. The culprit was eventually found to be a fat cat named Ginger.
In February 2020, three baboons broke free from a medical research institution and became one of Sydney’s most well-known animal escapes. Perplexed bystanders observed the baboons scampering about an inner-city parking lot.