Loss of pride sparks lion lockdown at Australian zoo

Sydney, Australia - Five African lions broke out of their enclosure at Sydney’s harbourside Taronga Zoo on Wednesday, triggering an emergency lockdown as police and specialist handlers scrambled to round up the pride.

Alarms blared throughout the zoo, a tourist drawcard that was closed to the public at the time, before the lions were tracked down and returned to their exhibit.

The zoo’s executive director Simon Duffy told reporters one lion cub had to be tran

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

“We don’t have the exact details of how and why that occurred.”

Taronga Zoo - set in a leafy, affluent neighbourhood with views of Sydney’s famous opera house and harbour bridge - said it would be opening as normal later in the day. Zookeepers were seen probing the fences of the lion enclosure for signs of damage.

The zoo has two adult lions, mum Maya and dad Ato, as well as their five cubs named Khari, Luzuko, Malika, Zuri and Ayanna.

A fully-grown male African lion can weigh as much as 250 kilograms, while females get as heavy as 180 kilograms.