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Inside the horror Taronga Zoo escape of five lions
Words: Adelaide Lang | Producer: Simone Kealy
A family has taken to social media to share their horror at being locked inside Sydney’s Taronga Zoo only hours after sleeping near the lions that have escaped the enclosure.
Magnus and Dominique Perri were sleeping overnight at the zoo with their children Lucas, 8, and Oliver, 6, as part of the Roar and Snore experience when they were woken early on Wednesday morning.
The family had been sleeping 100m from the lion enclosure when a loud alarm blared through the zoo to alert everyone that five lions were missing from their enclosure.
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Magnus Perri
Zookeepers rushed to the family’s tent at 6.40am and told them to get into a safe zone.
“They came running into the tent area saying … ‘get out of your tent and run, come now and leave your belongings’,” Mr Perri said.
“They came running into the tent area saying … ‘get out of your tent and run, come now and leave your belongings’,” Mr Perri said.
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It was a different kind of close experience than the family had experienced the day before when they were able to approach the lions as they slept.
It was a different kind of close experience than the family had experienced the day before when they were able to approach the lions as they slept.
Taronga Zoo director Simon Duffy reassured visitors that the lions had been returned to their habitat without any injuries to guests or staff by 9am.
He praised the zoo staff for acting quickly and following the safety procedures.
He praised the zoo staff for acting quickly and following the safety procedures.
“Four of the lions calmly made their way back into their main exhibit and dens and one lion cub was safely tranquillised. All animals are now safe in their back-of-house exhibit and are being closely monitored.”
Simon DuffyTaronga Zoo director
The adult lion and four cubs were reported missing around 6.30am when they were observed outside their main exhibit in an area separated from the rest of the zoo by a 1.8m fence.
Mr Duffy confirmed a full review would be conducted to ascertain how the lions escaped.
Taronga Zoo confirmed it would be open as normal on Wednesday.
Taronga Zoo confirmed it would be open as normal on Wednesday.
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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/web-stories/free/news-com-au/inside-the-horror-taronga-zoo-escape-of-five-lions