Escaped circus lion terrorizes seaside town in Italy, sends residents into panic

An escaped lion has sent an Italian town into a statඣe of panic, with residents warned to stay indoors.

T♔h♔e huge adult male lion, reportedly named Kimba, escaped from the Rony Roller circus on Saturday in the seaside town of Ladispoli, near Rome.

The town is home to around 40,000 people.

The town’s mayor, Alessandro Grando, took to Facebook to warn residents to st𒊎ay inside while circus staff and law enforcement officers worked to contain and recapture the lion.

More footage of the lion that escaped from a circus wandering the street♛s of Ladispoli, Rome, Italy 🇮🇹 | 11 November 2023 |

— Disaster Tracker (@DisasterTrackHQ)

“A lion escaped f💞r✃om the expected circus in Viale Mediterraneo,” he wrote.

“The animal was immediately traced to an adjacent water course🔯.”

Residents too🌊k to social media, posting clips of the lion prowling the streets in X.

In Italy, a lion caused quite a stir. The animal escaped from the circus and walked the streets

A few hours later ꧃the lion was caught. He was tied up and will be handed back to the circus.

— WBC Defenders (@WBCdefenders)

One video was 🐬taken from a car win𓆉dow, with the occupant trapped inside.

Local media outlet Corriere Della Sera reported that it took seven hours to capture the lio🅰n, in an operation which involved local police and three vets armed with rifles loaded with sedative bullets.

Kimba proved to be a tricky customer, escaping two attem🐭pts to capture him before finally su🐠ccumbing.

In a second Facebook post, more than five hours after the first, Mr. Grando confirmed the animal had been “sedated and captured,” and returned to circus staff.

Mr. Grando used the incident to express his displeasure that the circus was in town and raise questions about animal exploitation in circuses.

“For those who will stꦿart asking: why do you still brin🐠g the circus with animals to Ladispoli? Why did the mayor authorize the circus?” he said.

“The answer is that I haven’t authorized anything, ꦕit’s not my responsibility to do it, and unfortunately we can’t forbid circuses with animals coming to our city.

The lion that escaped from the circus (not zoo*) in Rome, Italy was finally caught. He was not harmed and there was no injuries.

I hope the lion en✤joyed his freedom while he could.

— Brian’s Breaking News and Intel (@intelFromBrian)

“I hope this episode can raise some conscience, and that we can finally put an end to animal exploitatܫion in circuses.”

Local media said investigations were under🍸way to ensure Kimba is cared for i🍰n compliance with the rules on animal protection, whether his ownership documents are in order and whether the safety measures to avoid escapes were properly followed.