Residents of Rome, Italy were startled recently when a rare circus lion was discovered roaming the streets of their city. The animal had escaped from a nearby circus, reportedly while the facility was being dismantled.
Although the event started off as an alarming surprise, authorities were able to quickly contain it without any injuries or fatalities. According to the reports of those who witnessed the incident, the lion was spotted near the city limits around 11 PM Saturday night. It had already been seen and reported a few hours earlier.
At first, the circus staff was unable to locate the lion, and it was assumed that it had made it out into the city. However, shortly after 11 PM, they were able to locate it and some of the staff were able to corral it back to its cage.
The lion was unharmed, but the animal handlers were quite willing to end the chase and quickly took it back to the circus. Once the animal was safe, authorities began a more extensive search of the area to find any other escaped animals, but none were found.
It is unclear as to how the lion managed to escape, however it has been suggested that the dismantling of the circus may have provided the lion with a route of escape. Despite the occurrence, authorities have made it clear that no charges will be pressed against the circus as there is no evidence of any criminal negligence on behalf of the facilities owners.
The circus lion’s escape serves as a timely reminder for those who are in charge of caring for animals to always take the necessary safety precautions to ensure that such events do not happen again.