• At the Sydney Zoo, five lions break out of their enclosure, prompting authorities to issue a "code one" alarm

    International
    At the Sydney Zoo, five lions break out of their enclosure, prompting authorities to issue a "code one" alarm

    Digital Desk: Early on Wednesday, five lions at Sydney's Taronga Zoo made
    a brief escape from their enclosure, causing the zoo to issue a "code
    one" alarm and evacuate participants in its "Roar and Snore"
    overnight stay programme to safety.




    mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A"> Ato, a male adult
    lion, and his four pups were captured on camera leaving their enclosure at 6.30
    a.m. (1930 GMT), even though they were still inside a section of the zoo that
    was divided from the remainder by a six-foot fence. This led to the warning
    being sent. While the other four returned on their own, one cub was
    tranquilized and returned by zookeepers.



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    "Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A">Less than 10 minutes after the lions escaped
    the main display area, according to the zoo, its emergency response was put
    into place. By 9 a.m., it was confirmed that the lions were back in their
    enclosure, according to local media.



    "Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A">Both people and animals were unharmed, and the
    zoo resumed operations as usual.



    "Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A">Simon Duffy, executive director of Taronga
    Zoo, said during a news conference that "rapid action was taken"
    despite the fact that the zoo having "extremely strict safety standards in
    place for such an incident."



    "Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A">Staff members tried to guide "Roar and
    Snore" programme participants away from danger as the police were summoned
    to the zoo.



    Taronga Zoo's lion enclosure is home to Ato
    and Maya and their five cubs - Khari and Luzuko who are male and Malika, Zuri
    and Ayanna who are female. While the others escaped, Maya and Ayanna remained
    inside the fence.



    "Times New Roman";color:#1C1A1A"> The zoo
    does not yet know how the animals escaped and has launched a formal review.