Wednesday 2 November 2022 12:04 AM Lion escape Taronga Zoo: Roar and Snore family ordered to run from tent after ... trends now
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A young family staying in Taronga Zoo for the night were given just 30 seconds to flee their luxury glamping tents after five lions escaped their enclosure.
Sydney couple Magnus and Dominique Perri and their young sons Lucas and Oliver were staying in Taronga's Roar and Snore tents when they were woken up by roaring at about 4am on Wednesday.
With the sounds of the animals being a key part of the experience, Mr Perri said the family quickly went back to sleep, believing the lions were safely locked up in their enclosure just metres away.
But less than three hours later, at 6.40am, a blaring alarm sounded across the zoo, with Taronga Zoo workers running through the campsite urging everyone to evacuate immediately due to lions being on the loose.
'It just happened so quickly,' Mr Perri said.
Sydney couple Magnus and Dominique Perri and their young sons Lucas and Oliver (above) were staying in Taronga's Roar and Snore when they were told they had 30 seconds to 'get out' after a lion escape
'They said "Hurry up! Don't worry about your things. This is a Code One. Get out of your tent. Leave your belongings behind. You have 30 seconds to get out".'
'People were running out.'
Mr Perri said the family were escorted out along with about 50 other Roar and Snore overnighters to a safe place for the next 90 minutes.
He also said he heard zookeepers yelling 'they're still outside still' until a tranquilizer gun was used to recapture one lion.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, a Taronga Zoo spokesman confirmed an adult lion and four cubs had escaped at 6.30am.
'The lions were observed in a small area adjacent to the main lion exhibit where a six-foot fence separated them from the rest of the zoo,' the zookeeper said.
'The zoo has very strict
