Sydney’s Taronga Zoo will conduct a full review into just how five lions escaped their secure enclosure sparking a lockdown and police emergency Wednesday morning.
An adult male lion and three cubs saw themselves back to their enclosure after a brief tour of the immediate outside area – while one cub needed to be tranquillised – but not before a full emergency response was called.
Under zoo protocols, staff were forced to take refuge, visitors were relocated, the facility was placed into lockdown and police were called.
For the zoo visitors enjoying Taronga Park’s ‘Roar and Snore’ package – allowing them to camp near the animal exclosures – their experience culminated in them running to a safe zone amid a “code one” [an incident involving a dangerous animal].
Magnus Perri said he and his family of four were staying overnight in a tent as part of the Roar and Snore when an alarm sounded and zookeepers urged them to run to safety.
Mr Perri told reporters he was startled by staff in what Taronga Zoo executive director Simon Duff later described as a “significant incident”.
“They came running down the tent area saying that there’s a code one, get out of your tent, leave your belongings behind,” he said.
“They opened the door, everyone got in, they counted us, and they locked the door, and we were staying inside the building.”
Mr Perri said the visitors remained clueless to the incident unfolding outside and only heard of the escape by accident.
“The guides had their radios on, and we heard them, and they said, ‘they’re still outside’, so we realised something is outside, and they said it’s the lions, so we’re like, ‘oh scary’,” he said.
While it is not yet known how the lions left their enclosure, Mr Duffy said the entire facility had its own safety perimeter fence, which stopped animals escaping into the nearby community outside.
Mr Duffy confirmed in a media conference that one lioness and four cubs were located outside their main enclosure at 6am on Wednesday.
He said it was less than 10 minutes between the lions exiting their main exhibit and the full emergency response.
“This is a significant incident and a full review is now under way to confirm exactly how the lions were able to exit their main exhibit,” he said.
Mr Duffy said the lions were separated from the rest of Taronga Zoo by a six-foot fence, and that “at no time” did the lions exit the Zoo.
The lions will not return to the exhibit until the review is undertaken.
The zoo, at Mosman on the city’s north shore, will be open as normal on Wednesday.
-with AAP
