Dorothy Gale’s nightmare of lions and tigers and bears appeared to come true on Friday: not in Oz but in Germany’s southwestern Eifel region.
Early on Friday residents near the zoo in Lünebach were warned to stay inside because two African lions, two Siberian tigers, a bear and a jaguar had escaped their enclosures.
Zookeepers at the family-run zoo alerted local police, the fire brigade and hunters after fears that torrential rainfall had damaged or undermined the enclosure fencing.
A frantic hunt got under way for the dangerous animals using camera-equipped drones. At lunchtime authorities reported that the bear had been located outside its enclosure – but not the zoo – and shot dead.
In the mid-afternoon police and zookeepers held a press conference and announced that the animals had been located – in their enclosures, where they had been all along.
Local mayor Andreas Kruppert said the alarm had gone out after 6am that large parts of the zoo – like much of the region – were under water.
“The fence of the bear’s cage did not stand up to the pressure of the water and, to flee the rising water, the bear fled out,” he said. “Because there was a considerable danger to people, the bear sadly had to be shot.”
With footage showing zoo pathways transformed into roaring rivers, police and hunters were unable to confirm the structural integrity of the adjacent tiger, lion and jaguar enclosures, nor were they able to immediately locate the animals.
Extreme weather
Only when water levels began to drop in early afternoon were firemen were able to make their way to the apparently empty compounds in the lower part of the 30-hectare zoo.
“All the big cats are in their cages and are acting very calm,” said Mr Kruppert. “It’s likely they never left their enclosures.”
Rescue services in Germany’s west and southwestern regions are battling extreme weather conditions. After days of temperatures over 30 degrees, some 65 litres of water per square metre fell early on Friday morning in the region. Mosel River levels have reached 5m and dams are at bursting point, requiring controlled releases of water.
Because it is still not clear if their enclosures had suffered structural damage, the Lünebach animals were placed under 24-hour police observation. Some may be taken from the zoo, 50km north of Trier, to Cologne zoo to spend the night.
A happy end for all – except the bear.
