Footage Shows How 5 Lions Escaped Zoo Enclosure

Australia's Taronga Zoo had to issue a "code one" alert last month, for good reason: Five lions escaped their enclosure. All ended safely, and now CCTV footage has revealed how the lions made their great escape, reports the Guardian. It's not as dramatic as you might think. The lions are seen poking around a particular part of their wire fence for several minutes before slipping through, one at a time, per Australia's ABC Network. For the record, the escapees were adult male Ato and cubs Zukuko, Khari, Zuri, and Malika. Adult female Maya stayed behind with cub Ayanna, per CNN.

The zoo discovered the breach within minutes and went on lockdown. All but Malika eventually returned on their own—Maya was calling them—the very same way they had escaped. Zookeepers had to tranquilize Malika before returning her as well. ABC notes that two of the lions made it past a second fence before returning, contradicting initial accounts that the lions hadn't strayed into public areas. The investigation into the fence's weakness continues, but it seems that clamps joining wire cables together failed, probably with help from the curious cubs. (More lions stories.)