Review Underway Into Lions Escape At Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo will complete a full review into how five lions escaped their main exhibit on Wednesday morning.

The lions, one adult and four cubs, were located “outside their main enclosure at 6.30am” after the zoo enacted its emergency situation 10 minutes after the lions escaped.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The New South Wales Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:

All lions were found close by to their main exhibit and safely returned to a back-of-house enclosure to be monitored for the day.

“All zoo staff acted swiftly, and procedures and processes were followed as they should have been. As a result, the situation was under control within minutes,” a Taronga Zoo statement read.

“We have since reviewed video footage, and we have confirmed it was less than 10 minutes between the lions exiting the main exhibit, and the emergency response being enacted. 

“This is a significant incident, and a full review is now underway to confirm exactly how the lions were able to exit their main exhibit.”

The Taronga Zoo spokesperson also confirmed the lions remained in the zoo’s premises, with multiple levels of security in place should an instance like this occurred.

“They did breach the containment fence. We don’t have the exact details of how and why that occurred and that is very much a very focus of our incident response and the review that will be conducted now.

“But I would remind everyone that Taronga Zoo itself has its own safety perimeter fence; so at no time did the lions exit that area or exit Taronga Zoo.”

Australia Today with Steve Price provides honest opinion and real talk live and exclusive from 7-11am Monday to Friday. Listen below or download the LiSTNR app and enjoy a new world of audio. All your favourite shows and stations in one library.