Five lions escape from enclosure in Sydney's Taronga Zoo

SYDNEY - An initial review has confirmed that an integrity issue with a containment fence enabled five lions to temporarily escape from their enclosure, Sydney's harbourside Taronga Zoo said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the lions are now in a back-of-house holding area while a full review continues. Keepers and vets reported that all five are doing well.

An emergency situation occurred Wednesday morning when five lions, one adult and four cubs, were found outside their enclosure at 6.30 am local time. They were observed in a small area adjacent to the main enclosure, where a six-foot fence separated them from the rest of the zoo, Xinhua reported.

Earlier in the day, executive director at Taronga Zoo Simon Duffy told reporters that it took less than 10 minutes between the lions exiting the main enclosure and the emergency response being enacted.

"All persons on site were moved to safe zones. Four of the lions calmly returned to their dens, and one cub was safely tranquilised," Duffy said, noting that the situation was soon under control, with no injuries to guests or staff, and all the animals are being closely monitored.

"They (the five lions) did breach the containment fence. We don't have the exact details of how it occurred. That is very much a focus of our incident response and a full review is now underway," he added. - BERNAMA