Five lions are on the loose at Taronga Zoo after reportedly escaping their enclosure

Five lions have escaped their enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, just metres from where tourists were sleeping in tents as part of the ‘Roar and Snore’ experience. 

Alarms sounded out across the zoo just before 7.30am on Wednesday as a Code One alert was issued, all staff were ordered to rush to a ‘safe haven’ away from the roaming animals, and police arrived. 

Code One alarms are reserved for when a ‘dangerous animal’ has escaped or is causing an alarming situation. 

It is unclear how the lions, who were eventually all caught, escaped the enclosure.

Helicopter footage showed zookeepers and dozens of police inside the lion enclosure inspecting what appeared to be a hole in the fence. 

Taronga Zoo said in a statement it would open as normal today.

‘An emergency situation occurred this morning at Taronga Zoo when five lions were located outside of their enclosure,’ the zoo said.

‘The zoo has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident. All persons onsite were moved to safe zones and there are no injuries to guests or staff.

‘All animals are now in their exhibit and are being closely monitored by zoo staff. The zoo will open as normal today. Further details will be provided when possible.’

Police confirmed the zoo was ‘managing the situation on its own’.

The lions escaped their enclosure – not far from the zoo’s ferry terminal – before the tourist attraction opened its gates for the day, meaning only workers were present.

Taronga Zoo’s James Dalziel said the Code One was the zoo’s highest alert but that it was ‘all over pretty quickly’.

Police and zoo workers were seen checking the fencelines at the lion’s Savannah enclosure (above)

He would not confirm whether tranquilizer darts were used but said ‘highly trained staff’ had been involved in the lions’ recapture.

Visitors from Gloucestershire, UK, Kirsty, Stuart and Isabelle McLaren said they weren’t alarmed because they had the all clear to roam the entire zoo once it opened at 9.30am.

‘We’re just here to see the koalas,’ Kirsty said.

The chimpanzees, giraffes and zebras exhibits are just metres away from the lion enclosure.

The zoo’s popular Roar and Snore attraction, where people are able to sleep in luxury tents and see the animals at night and in the early morning, is also close by. 

The Taronga Zoo Sydney welcomed a litter of five African lion cubs to its Savannah enclosure in August. 

Four lions have escaped their enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo (pictured, police seen at the fence near the lion viewing area)

TIMELINE OF THE TARONGA ZOO LION ESCAPE 

4am: A family staying in the Roar and Snore tents near the lion enclosure are woken by ‘roaring’.

6.30am: The Code One lockdown alarm sounds in the zoo and all staff, apart from lionkeepers, are ordered to hide in ‘safe havens’. Roar and Snore guests, about 50, are evacuated from their tents and moved to a safe area. 

6.40am: Zookeepers control the situation and move the five lions back to their enclosure. 

8am: Roar and Snore guests are allowed back into their rooms. 

8.28am: 2GB Sydney radio host Ben Fordham breaks the news Taronga Zoo is in lockdown after the escape of four lions.

8.52am: Taronga Zoo releases a statement confirming the incident which states five lions escaped but are back in their enclosures.

It said: ‘An emergency situation occurred this morning at Taronga Zoo when five lions were located outside of their enclosure.

‘The zoo has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident. All persons onsite were moved to safe zones and there are no injuries to guests or staff.

‘All animals are now in their exhibit and are being closely monitored by zoo staff. The zoo will open as normal today. Further details will be provided when possible.’

10.30am: Zoo officials confirm the escape was caused by a breach in the Savannah enclosure fence.