Five lions escaped from their enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo on Wednesday, urging the zoo to issue “a code” alert and bring visitors to a safe environment for its “Roar and Snoring” night program.
The warning came after an adult male lion named Ato and four cubs were shown outside their cages at 6:30 a.m. local time, even though they were still about a meter away from the rest of the zoo.
Zoo keepers used tranquilizers and retrieved one cub, while the other four returned on their own.
The zoo said the emergency response took effect 10 minutes after the lions escaped from the main display area. According to local media, it was confirmed that the lions returned to their enclosures at 9 am.
No people or animals were injured and the zoo opened normally.
“The zoo has very strict safety protocols for an event like this and prompt action was taken,” Taronga Zoo Executive Director Simon Duffy said at a press conference.
The zoo’s lion enclosure is home to Ato and Maya and their five cubs – Khari and Luzuko, the male, and Malika, Zuri, and Ayanna, the female. Maya and Ayanna remained in the room while the others fled.
The zoo still does not know how the animals escaped and began an official review.
source: Noticias
