Five African lions broke out of their enclosure at Sydney's harborside Taronga Zoo on Wednesday, triggering an emergency lockdown as police and specialist handlers scrambled to round up the pride.<br /><br />The big cats had busted out of their compound at Taronga Zoo in Sydney at around 7.30am on Tuesday morning.<br /><br />An unsuspecting construction worker reportedly spotted them prowling the grounds as guests in the park's accommodation awoke.<br /><br />The enclosure is situated just meters away from where tourists sleep in tents as part of the attraction's 'Roar and Snore' experience. <br /><br />The lionhearted escape triggered a Code One lockdown in the famed zoo, as staff were urged to take cover in "safe havens".<br /><br />Police also raced to the scene as a deafening alarm sounded, notifying employees to follow safety protocol.<br /><br />But lionkeepers were said to have remained in position as the ferocious animals roamed around.<br /><br />Cops were seen assessing the perimeter of the fence of the lions' Savannah enclosure, situated near the zoo's ferry terminal.<br /><br />How the animals managed to escape remains unclear.<br /><br />The lions were eventually rounded up before the zoo opened as usual at 9.30am.<br /><br />Taronga Zoo said in a statement: "An emergency situation occurred this morning at Taronga Zoo Sydney when five lions were located outside their enclosure.<br /><br />"The Zoo has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident. All persons on site were moved to safe zones and there are no injuries to guests or staff.<br /><br />"All animals are now in their exhibit where they are being closely monitored.<br /><br />"The Zoo will be open as normal today. Further details will be provided when possible."<br /><br />Police later confirmed the zoo was "managing the situation on its own".<br /><br />Taronga Zoo's James Dalziel told the Daily Mail the lion's dramatic escapade was "all over pretty quickly".<br /><br />He added that "highly trained staff" had taken care of the incident.<br /><br />Code One alarms are used when a "dangerous animal" has escaped or is causing an alarming situation.<br /><br />Just meters away from the lions enclosure is the park's chimpanzee, giraffe and zebra exhibits.<br /><br />The full Taronga Zoo lion pride includes two adult animals Maya and Ato and their five cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malika, Zuri and Ayanna.<br /><br />The African lion cubs were welcomed into the Savannah enclosure in August this year.
