The lion is safely back home after an adventure roaming the streets of Italy over the weekend.
Kimba the lion was found hours after he escaped from the Rony Roller circus in Ladispoli, a seaside town near Rome, on Saturday, Mayor Alessandro Grando said in a Facebook post.
“The lion is sedated and captured. Now he will be handed over by the circus staff,’ Grando wrote. “I thank the state police, carabinieri, fire department, local and provincial police, Asl [Local Health Authority]and to all the volunteers who served during these hours of great anxiety.”
He added: “I hope that this episode will awaken some consciences and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses.”
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Kimba the lion, 8, escaped from the Rony Roller circus near Rome on Saturday.
SONIA LOGRE/AFP via Getty
Grando warned residents about the escape of eight-year-old Kimba in a post on Saturday, as he shared that the lion was located in a “neighboring watercourse”. He added that operations to bring the lion home are taking place with the help of the police.
After the escape, shocked residents shared footage of the lion roaming the streets on social media.
One clip showed Kimba casually walking down the middle of an empty road in a residential area at night. At one point, the disgruntled lion looked straight at the camera as the resident who was filming let out a surprised yelp.
In another video, a lion was walking down a sidewalk at night as a car drove past. The lion is also seen walking between parked cars in the footage as a police car follows behind him.
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The lion was seen on video roaming the streets of Italy after escaping.
SONIA LOGRE/AFP via Getty
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Despite concerns about the lion, animal keeper Rony Vassallo, whose family runs the Rony Roller Circus, assured that Kimba is not a threat. “He was meeting people in an environment he wasn’t used to…and nothing happened,” Vassallo said AFP.
“He didn’t have the instinct for a second to attack a person,” he continued, adding that he was afraid “that someone might injure the animal, out of fear or too much enthusiasm.”
Vassallo also told the outlet that his family was left “very shaken and tense” by Kimba’s escape. He added that Kimba’s escape was “very strange” to AFP, per Guardbecause he checked the lock an hour before the lion escaped.
It is suspected that the lion escaped after the lock on its cage was broken in “sabotage”. Grando told CNN on Saturday. The mayor added that the investigation is ongoing.
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Source: HIS Education