The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Zoo animals recaptured after escape during flood
Two lions, two tigers, a jaguar and a bear have been recaptured after breaking out of their cage sat a zoo in western Germany after heavy rain flooded the area.
The incident at the privately-run Eifel Zoo in Luenebach, near the border with Luxembourg and Belgium, sparked a massive search by police as they warned local residents to stay indoors.
The big cats were found hours later on the zoo’s grounds with the help of a drone and were successfully corralled back into their cages, police spokesman Joerg Raskopp said.
The bear escaped from the 30-hectare (75-acre) zoo grounds into the rolling hills of the Eifel region and had to be shot, Mr Raskopp said.
The region was hit by severe storms in the early hours of the morning, flooding sections of the zoo.
The flooding weakened fences making them “permeable” enough to allow the predators to escape, said the police.
Owned by the Wallpott family, the zoo is home to nearly 400 animals of 60 species, including Siberian tigers and lions.
It was first established in 1965 with only dogs, donkeys and a wild boar, according to the zoo’s website, and is visited by 70,000 people a year.
Friday’s escape comes two years after two lions broke out of their cages at a zoo in Leipzig in eastern Germany. One was shot dead and the other recaptured.