Taronga Zoo Lion escape at Taronga Zoo
- Thread starter Tigergal
- Start date
Lion escape:
There’s an article about it here:
Taronga Zoo put into lockdown after five lions escape enclosure
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...e-lions-escape-enclosure-20221102-p5buua.html
No doubt the zoo will be launching a full scale investigation into how this happened, but for now I’m glad the lions were safely recaptured without injuries to those involved; or the lions having to be destroyed on the grounds of public safety.
Taronga take both the welfare of their animals and the safety of their staff and visitors very seriously, so it’s credit to them they were able to implement a recovery plan at short notice.
Crikey! I'm glad to hear it was prior to opening hours and all staff are safe (alongside the lions themselves too, of course).
I'd assume those five lions may in fact be the five cubs (who are more like juveniles now).
Some further info on the escape:
The escapees have since been identified as father Ato and cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malike and Zuri.
Taronga Zoo confirmed their escape was related to a "integrity issue" with a containment fence allowed the lions to escape.
One of the cubs had to be tranquilised after the lions were spotted outside their main enclosure but were still separated from the rest of the zoo by a six-foot (1.8-metre) fence.
Less than10 minutes elapsed between the animals exiting the enclosure and the full emergency response being enacted.
Veterinarians equipped with tranquiliser guns used them on one of the lion cubs, however the other animals were returned to their enclosure without issue.
The lions had been in their proper enclosure throughout the night and an investigation is now underway.
Guests told to 'run' after five lions broke free of enclosure at Taronga Zoo
It seems they somehow managed to climb the fence surrounding their enclosure which is over 4 metres tall - so quite a feat imo. I'd assume the other two lions, Maya and Ayanna probably didn't manage to get over the fence during that short time period of ten minutes. Ato's an extremely good climber too, but i'd be very interested to find out exactly how they get over the fence.
The escapees have since been identified as father Ato and cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malike and Zuri.
Taronga Zoo confirmed their escape was related to a "integrity issue" with a containment fence allowed the lions to escape.
One of the cubs had to be tranquilised after the lions were spotted outside their main enclosure but were still separated from the rest of the zoo by a six-foot (1.8-metre) fence.
Less than10 minutes elapsed between the animals exiting the enclosure and the full emergency response being enacted.
Veterinarians equipped with tranquiliser guns used them on one of the lion cubs, however the other animals were returned to their enclosure without issue.
The lions had been in their proper enclosure throughout the night and an investigation is now underway.
Guests told to 'run' after five lions broke free of enclosure at Taronga Zoo
It seems they somehow managed to climb the fence surrounding their enclosure which is over 4 metres tall - so quite a feat imo. I'd assume the other two lions, Maya and Ayanna probably didn't manage to get over the fence during that short time period of ten minutes. Ato's an extremely good climber too, but i'd be very interested to find out exactly how they get over the fence.
Swanson02
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to see what drove almost all of them to escape, usually, it's only one individual that escapes. Maybe there was a small animal nearby that triggered a predatory instinct in Ato, impelling him to escape to get at it? Or he could have just done it on a whim
.
It would be interesting to see what drove almost all of them to escape, usually, it's only one individual that escapes. Maybe there was a small animal nearby that triggered a predatory instinct in Ato, impelling him to escape to get at it? Or he could have just done it on a whim
A number of media releases have suggested a hole in the fence was the cause - which is in line with the comment from the zoo regarding an “integrity issue.”
It’s concerning that only a 1.8m fence separated them from the staff/visitors, which they easily could have climbed - but fortunately chose not to.
At 17 months old, the cubs are adolescents and have the potential to inflict serious injuries.
Lion escape investigation to focus on fence failure, Taronga Zoo says
It would be interesting to see what drove almost all of them to escape, usually, it's only one individual that escapes. Maybe there was a small animal nearby that triggered a predatory instinct in Ato, impelling him to escape to get at it? Or he could have just done it on a whim
I think it’s possible Ato initially escaped and the Cubs just followed him like they do. I don’t think it would be a predatory instinct as females are the ones who usually hunt, and the fact that Maya and Ayanna didn’t go to seems to sort of repel this theory. But something may have interested Ato enough for him to decide to escape, especially as they didn’t venture far - which shows they obviously didn’t want to go to far from Maya and Ayanna who were left in the enclosure.
Photos seemed to show the keepers inspecting the fence looking up, so I’d assumed they managed to get over the fence; but then again the fence is rather tall so I’m struggling to comprehend how they would climb it.
If there was a hole though, I think all of the lions would’ve escaped through it. It’s very unusual to especially see four of the cubs escape and not all five, especially with them being incredibly curious. I visited them only six months ago, and when one went somewhere, all of the rest followed, so it’s surprising Ayanna was left behind. But I’d imagine the cubs were following the lead of their father, Ato.
It's really interesting to see four of the Lions made their way back into their enclosure too; likely lured by food but still
Photos seemed to show the keepers inspecting the fence looking up, so I’d assumed they managed to get over the fence; but then again the fence is rather tall so I’m struggling to comprehend how they would climb it.
If there was a hole though, I think all of the lions would’ve escaped through it. It’s very unusual to especially see four of the cubs escape and not all five, especially with them being incredibly curious. I visited them only six months ago, and when one went somewhere, all of the rest followed, so it’s surprising Ayanna was left behind. But I’d imagine the cubs were following the lead of their father, Ato.
It's really interesting to see four of the Lions made their way back into their enclosure too; likely lured by food but still
I find it unlikely that the five of them would scale the fence and climb over one after the other. I’m still of the opinion a hole in the fence is the most likely option, perhaps only a partial tear that those within the vicinity were able to observe those before them pass through and then follow - with the tear not being visually obvious to the two not present at the time.
It’s also possible the decision to remain in the exhibit by the two that stayed was a conscious one. A lion escape at a New Zealand circus saw the male and one of the females escape when the opportunity arose; with the other female choosing to remain in the cage (likely out of trepidation of what lay outside).
It’s common practice to train big cats (and other dangerous animals) in zoos to respond to recall whistles precisely for events like these. It appears this wasn’t implemented as the lions “calmly” returned to their exhibit - but I suspect a recommendation of the investigation will be to regularly implement this in husbandry training.
Coverage from ABC News:
'Emergency situation' blamed on fence at Sydney's Taronga Zoo after five lions escaped
Family camping at zoo flees to toilet block safe zone amid lion escape drama
'Emergency situation' blamed on fence at Sydney's Taronga Zoo after five lions escaped
An initial review of this morning's incident has confirmed that an integrity issue with a containment fence enabled five lions to temporarily exit their main exhibit," the zoo said in a statement
...
Taronga Zoo’s executive director, Simon Duffy, said the lion enclosure had two containment fences, and the animals had breached one of them.
"We don't have the exact details on how and why that occurred, but I would remind everyone that Taronga Zoo itself has its own safety perimeter fence so at no time did the lions exit that area or exit Taronga Zoo."
...
Taronga Zoo’s executive director, Simon Duffy, said the lion enclosure had two containment fences, and the animals had breached one of them.
"We don't have the exact details on how and why that occurred, but I would remind everyone that Taronga Zoo itself has its own safety perimeter fence so at no time did the lions exit that area or exit Taronga Zoo."
Family camping at zoo flees to toilet block safe zone amid lion escape drama
Update on investigation:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-04/taronga-zoo-lion-enclosure-fence-review/101613628
Taronga Zoo has commissioned an independent engineer to complete a "full review" of how five lions escaped their enclosure through a fence that suffered an "integrity issue".
The zoo has provided no further detail on what caused "integrity issue" with the containment fence.
It says "no issues were reported" during the keepers' daily perimeter checks on Tuesday.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-04/taronga-zoo-lion-enclosure-fence-review/101613628
Taronga Zoo has commissioned an independent engineer to complete a "full review" of how five lions escaped their enclosure through a fence that suffered an "integrity issue".
The zoo has provided no further detail on what caused "integrity issue" with the containment fence.
It says "no issues were reported" during the keepers' daily perimeter checks on Tuesday.
The keepers are required to do perimeter checks when they clean the enclosure, put food out ect.
So it seems they've done the damage to the fence overnight; only managing to get out at dawn, the next morning.
The article states perimeter checks were last carried out on Tuesday.
The escape occurred on Wednesday morning with the anomaly reported at 6.30am local time with a full emergency response activated by 6.40am.
Yes, which would be after the tuesday checks but before the wednesday morning checks.
Most zoos allow this with their animals overnight nowadays, but it really depends on the zoo and the species. For example, I don’t think any of the zoos in our region allow their great apes outdoor access at night, but most allow elephants outdoor access at night.
I think it just comes down to the keepers giving the lions freedom of choice, whether they want to stay indoors at night or go outside. Following this incident though, I don’t see the lions having the opportunity to spend time outside again at night.
Taronga did with their chimpanzees until one was discovered in 2021 in the area immediately outside it’s exhibit at 6am.
Hopefully following an identification of the cause and a review of their practices, 2023 will be a better year for the zoo. I’m sure this isn’t something they want to make an annual tradition.
When I worked there all the dangerous animals were locked up at night. Not just in case of incidences of them escaping but to prevent them injuring themselves in the exhibit, either accidentally or by fighting. Having them indoors at night means the keepers can check the animals first thing in the morning when they come in, and the exhibit is already empty so you can start cleaning it immediately.
On the odd occasion a chimp would refuse to come inside and would spend the night outside in the exhibit. But that was a rare occurrence and only a few chimpanzees were prepared to do that because they knew the repercussions the next morning.
Hix
On the odd occasion a chimp would refuse to come inside and would spend the night outside in the exhibit. But that was a rare occurrence and only a few chimpanzees were prepared to do that because they knew the repercussions the next morning.
Hix
Most of the New Zealand zoos allow their big cats out at night.
In the past it’s served as a useful tool for managing rotational access to the exhibit - with the more confident tiger on display during the day (so the visitors could see something); and the less confident tiger allowed out at night, where she could explore the exhibit.