Taronga Zoo

'Significant' incident at Taronga Zoo now under investigation as officials try to find out how the animals got out.

“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,” said the zoo’s executive director Simon Duffy. Taronga’s five lion cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malika, Zuri and Ayanna recently turned one year old. “The zoo has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident and immediate action was taken,” it continued, and people on the site – including staff and guests on its “Roar and Snore” programme – were moved to “safe zones”.

Taronga Zoo's executive director, Simon Duffy, said the lion enclosure had two containment fences, and that the animals breached one of them. "We don't have the ...

Once the animals were secured, zoo staff were seen walking the perimeter of the enclosure known, as "Lion Pride Lands". "All animals are now safe in their back of house exhibit and are being monitored," he said. Duffy said four of the lions "calmly" made their way back to their main exhibits on their own and "one lion cub was safely tranquillised".

Five lions briefly escaped their enclosure at Sydney's Taronga Zoo this morning, triggering a 'Code One' alert with staff urged to retreat to 'safe havens'.

In February 2020, three baboons were spotted running around the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Camperdown. Police and staff were seen inside the lion enclosure inspecting a boundary fence facing the water’s edge in Mosman. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazard later confirmed the primates had escaped via a faulty lock while being transported to an animal research facility at RPA. There are a total of two adult lions and five lion cubs at Taronga Zoo. The alarm was sounded at around 7.30am after a construction worker reportedly made the discovery. One of the baboons – a 15-year-old male – was slated to have a vasectomy “because there’s no desire for him to continue to breed for the troop”.

Sydney's Taronga Zoo was placed into lockdown and families were told to “get out of their tents and run” on Wednesday after five lions escaped from their ...

The zoo confirmed the lions were back in their enclosure just before 9am. Last year, a chimpanzee escaped its enclosure at Taronga Zoo. “A number of the big cats, including the pride of three lions, are trained in emergency recall, where they will return to their den at a certain sound,” Hamilton zoo director Baird Fleming said. And in 2009, a lioness had to be shot dead at Mogo Zoo, on the South Coast, because of the danger the animal posed to the public. “The Zoo will be open as normal today,” Taronga Zoo said in a statement. “They came running into the tent area saying, ‘this is a Code One, get out of your tent and run, come now and leave your belongings’,” Magnus said as the family left the zoo on Wednesday. Following the incident, all five lions were in their “night dens”, a non-public facing part of their enclosure, while the zoo began its investigation into how they escaped. “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. Sydney couple Dominique and Magnus Perri and their children Lucas and Oliver were among the dozens of people sleeping 100 metres from the lion enclosure at the zoo as part of the Roar and Snore programme. Four of the lions “calmly” made their way back into their main enclosure, Taronga Zoo executive director Simon Duffy said, and the zoo’s vets tranquillised one cub. A “code one” – the zoo’s “most active” code – was activated when the discovery was made with one lion cub tranquillised while trying to get the pride back into their Sydney’s Taronga Zoo was placed into lockdown and families were told to “get out of their tents and run” on Wednesday after five lions

The Zoo later confirmed a shoddy fence in the enclosure had led to the escape. “An initial review of this morning's incident has confirmed that an integrity ...

There are a total of two adult lions and five cubs at Taronga Zoo. “They thrive on their routine. They drive on knowing what’s happening. “I feel that everyone who was there would be just terrified for the potential because the lions would be scared out of their minds as well,” he said. “They zeroed in on one particular part of the fence and they seemed to rectify that pretty quickly.” “Like, how on earth there was a point in the fence where these lions were able to get out of that enclosure there. “This is a significant incident and a full review is now underway to confirm exactly how the lions were able to escape,” Duffy said. He stressed there was a second “six-foot containment fence” that separated the lions from the rest of the zoo. He added that there was “less than 10 minutes between the lions exiting their main exhibit and the full emergency response”. Staff and guests staying overnight as part of the zoo’s “Roar and Snore” programme were directed to “run” to safe zones as a “code one” was activated. Taronga Zoo director Simon Duffy said the lions were found in a small area “adjacent to the main lion exhibit” but admitted exactly how they escaped was still under investigation. A portion of fence and “digging marks” were the centre of an investigation after police arrived on the scene.