Five lions break loose and force zoo visitors to hide in toilets!

Sydney, Australia - An Australian zoo was placed into lockdown on Wednesday after five lions escaped their enclosure, forcing guests to hide in the bathroom until the big cats were recaptured!

The Tarogna Zoo is home to seven lions. Five escaped their main enclosure on Tuesday.
The Tarogna Zoo is home to seven lions. Five escaped their main enclosure on Tuesday.  © Saeed KHAN / AFP

Around 6:30 AM (local time) at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, an adult lion and four cubs escaped their main enclosure, according to a press release.

"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 statement said.

Though the animals had escaped their main exhibit, they were still separated from the rest of the zoo by a six-foot fence.

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The incident wasn't during normal opening hours, but a family that had booked an overnight package adventure had spent the night in a tent at the zoo was there when the lions got loose. They didn't know anything was wrong until an alarm rang and keepers rushed them into a toilet.

One of the guests told ABC News, "We were a bit surprised, [we thought] is this part of the action package?"

The lions were only on the loose for almost 10 minuets

One of the cubs had to be tranquilized before he would return to his enclosure.
One of the cubs had to be tranquilized before he would return to his enclosure.  © Brendon THORNE / AFP

It didn't take long for the shocked guests to realize that this wasn't what they had signed up for.

"The guides had their radios on, and we heard them, and they said, 'they're still outside', so we realized something is outside, and they said it's the lions, so we're like, 'oh scary,'" guest Magnus Perri told ABC News.

After an alarm was activated, four of the lions voluntarily returned to their enclosure, calmly. One cub had to be tranquilized, but according to an update from the zoo, it is awake and doing fine as of Wednesday.

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Zookeepers discovered that the lions were on the loose within 10 minutes and activated security protocols.

A full review into the incident has also been promised.

Cover photo: Saeed KHAN / AFP

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