An adult lion in the enclosure at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. Photo / Cassie Lafferty, Unsplash
An adult lion in the enclosure at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. Photo / Cassie Lafferty, Unsplash
Sydney's Taronga Zoo has been ridiculed after blaming an incident where five lions escaped their enclosures on a fence "integrity issue".
An emergency situation was declared on Wednesday after one adult and four lion cubs were found outside their enclosure at the Sydney harbourside zoo at about 6.30am.
Staff and guests staying overnight as part of the zoo's "Roar and Snore" program were directed to "run" to safe zones as a "code one" was activated.
Taronga Zoo confirmed at about 9am that the animals had been returned to their exhibit and that no staff or guests were injured.
It was later revealed a dodgy fence was to blame for the lions' escape, with an initial review confirming an "integrity issue with a containment fence enabled five lions to temporarily exit their main exhibit".
"How about those Taronga Park lions exploiting the 'integrity issue' they encountered with the fence by wandering off, rather than reporting said 'issue' to the Zoo's Integrity Committee? Is this a sackable offence?" one person wrote.
Another person joked the explanation may have meant someone forgot to shut the gate to the enclosure.
Taronga Park Zoo is a wildlife attraction in Sydney Harbour. Photo / Mark Mitchell
#tarongazoo Taronga officials said an initial review found "an integrity issue with a containment fence" allowed the lions to escape. Does that translate to Who left the gate open?
Taronga Zoo confirmed a review of the holding area was under way and a full report was being prepared for the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
The zoo also revealed there were "no issues reported" with the fencing on Tuesday during the reported during the zookeepers' daily perimeter checks.
"Safety is a top priority at Taronga, and this includes scheduled maintenance and inspections," the zoo said in a statement.
The website used to have a full page dedicated to the lion enclosure perimeter fence at Taronga Zoo. Picture: Tensile Design and Construct
"The fencing product is specially designed and engineered for zoo purposes and has been used in zoos across the world.
"The fence is maintained by specialist tradespeople and fencing technicians."
Along with the review of the incident, Taronga Zoo also said it had commissioned an independent engineer to complete a "full review of the fence".
Creator of the lion perimeter fence, Tensile Design and Construct, had a full page on their website dedicated to the fence design they were commissioned to complete at Taronga Zoo.
On the page, which has now been removed, the company said it understood the need for "a very robust barrier that would provide maximum safety".
The company said it used Webnet mesh to create a perimeter fence that was "transparent and lightweight but robust enough to resist a charging animal".
Tensile's managing director Peter Bottero told the ABC the company was "deeply concerned" to hear about the issue with the enclosure.
He said Tensile had a "very positive relationship" with Taronga Zoo.
Mr Bottero said the company could not comment on any potential cause for the integrity issue as an "investigation is under way and the facts are not confirmed".
"We intend to continue to work with the Taronga Zoo team to help resolve things," he said.
