Our worst nightmare: Sydney's Taronga Zoo was closed after five lions fled the enclosure

Our worst nightmare: Sydney's Taronga Zoo was closed after five lions fled the enclosure.

Dad of two who spent the night in the "roar and snore" experience says the family told him to run away from the tents and "it was quite shocking - imagine, one Facing lions.”

 Five lions came out of their enclosure at Sydney Taronga Zoo, forcing staff and visitors to hide in “safe zones” and triggering a security check at the zoo.

 The lions, four cubs, and one adult were seen outside their enclosure at around 6:30am. m. On Wednesday. A "Code One" warning sent the zoo into lockdown shortly thereafter. /p>The police were called at 7:10 am. and the lions returned to their enclosure just before 9:00 a.m. 

 Code one is the zoo's most urgent alert and requires an emergency response. slip away. "An initial review of this morning's incident confirmed that an integrity issue with a security fence allowed five lions to temporarily leave their main enclosure," Taronga said. The zoo said the lions are now in a "holding area at the back of the house" and a full report is being prepared for the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Magnus Perri and his family were staying at the zoo overnight as he said staff woke him up on Wednesday and told him to get to safety. stores,'" Perri told Guardian  Australia. "We had to leave our belongings and they took us to a hut to hide us. We thought it was an exercise until we heard over one of the staff radios that the lions had escaped.

 It was quite shocking, imagine facing a lion, it was our worst nightmare. Sign up for our free morning and evening email newsletters. Guardian Australia for its daily news roundup. The father of two said guests had to stay in the cabin for an hour and a half before being allowed out. Which lion came to us? They would have killed us.

 "But for now we weren't scared, the staff was great and the kids thought it was something from Jurassic Park. We feel protected. Taronga Chief Operating Officer Simon Duffy previously told reporters that the lions were seen in a "small area adjacent to the main lion exhibit.""A six-foot-tall fence separated them from the rest of the zoo," he said. "The zoo has very strict safety protocols for such an incident and immediate action was taken. Duffy said it was necessary to calm down a puppy. but otherwise the lions "quietly returned" to their enclosure. “All the animals are now secure in their back enclosures and are being closely monitored. I want to remind everyone that Taronga Zoo has a security fence.

"So the lions didn't come from around here or from Taronga Zoo. Duffy confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing and that the exhibit would be subject to a further inspection to ensure it was "100% secure". The police were called to the zoo. as a precaution and no injuries were reported. The zoo confirmed the area was safely secured just before 9am. "An emergency occurred at Taronga Sydney Zoo this morning when five lions were outside their enclosure," the zoo said in a statement. Aerial footage showed caretakers patrolling the site during the emergency. "All people at the venue have been removed to safe areas and there have been no injuries to guests or staff. All animals are now in their enclosure, where they are closely monitored. The escape from the zoo comes almost three years later. "Following the escape of a group of baboons from a research facility near Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, animal escapes are rare in Taronga, but keepers are reportedly prepared for such events with an action plan that includes tranquilizer darts and nets." /p>In 2011, 

former Taronga keeper Terry Boylan told Australian Geographic that most animals were "very reluctant" to leave the safety of their enclosures. In 1946, a Bengal tiger escaped onto the zoo grounds. The visiting audience was herded into an empty seal enclosure. while the staff chased the animal. In 1972, a young orangutan managed to climb onto the roof of the monkey house after breaking through the floorboards of his cage. In the mid-1950s, former circus chimpanzee Koko escaped and ran through the abandoned zoo before jumping into the office manager's car, where keepers gave her chloroform. As for Balmoral park. And in 1967, an Entellus langur monkey escaped from its concrete pit and made its way to Bradley's Head, where it was shot by a zookeeper. In 2009 a lion escaped from its enclosure at Mogo Zoo on the south coast of NSW. This article was amended on 2 November 2022 to reflect the time the zoo issued its code 1 alert and the number of correct affected adults compared to juveniles.