By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Five lions have been returned to their enclosures at Taronga Zoo in Sydney after escaping early on Wednesday before opening hours, according to a statement from the zoo.
The zoo declared a “code one” alert early on Monday morning after video footage showed four cubs and one adult lion outside their enclosure at 6.30 a.m. (1930 GMT) on Monday, Taronga Zoo Executive Director Simon Duffy told a press conference.
The lions escaped into a small area adjacent to the main exhibit but were still separated from the rest of the zoo by a six-foot fence.
Zoo keepers tranquilised and returned one cub while the remaining four made their way back of their own accord. There were no injuries to people or animals and the zoo opened as normal.
“The zoo has very strict safety protocols in place for such an incident and immediate action was taken. All persons on site were moved to safe zones,” said Duffy.
The zoo does not yet know how the animals escaped and has launched a formal review.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Edwina Gibbs)
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