The escape of a lion from a circus and its subsequent rampage through the streets of a town close to Rome, Italy, led the locals to be anxious.
A set of shocking videos of the lion wandering the streets of a small town of just more than 40,000 people has been circulated on social media, as reported by Mirror. While officials searched for the animal, residents were told to remain inside.
Note From the Mayor
In one viral video, the beast strolls casually by people's cars while sirens and spotlights from emergency vehicles go off in the background. In another, the lion wanders along the street at night and looks up to see who is photographing him from inside a house.
The mayor of Ladispoli, Alessandro Grando, said on social media that police in the area had been assisting circus personnel in their hunt for the missing animal.
"A lion escaped from the circus. Please pay full attention and avoid travel until further notice," he stated. Grando said the animal had been tracked to a nearby watercourse. He had to defend the circus' presence in town in the face of angry residents who demanded to know why they were letting in potentially deadly wild animals.
After hours of pursuit, the lion was finally sedated at about 10:00 PM local time. On Facebook, Grando verified the news.
He wrote: "The lion was sedated and captured. Now it will be taken over by the circus staff. Thank you State Police, Carabinieri, Firefighters, Provincial Police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning. I hope this episode can raise some conscience and that we can finally put an end to animal exploitation in circuses."
Earlier in the day, Grando said that he had little influence over whether or not the circuses would be allowed to operate, stating they cannot ban such circuses from coming to the city.
In the Facebook post, he pointed out that they tried to ban these shows in 2017, but the court ruled against them. The whole process only cost them hefty legal fees. He added that they have limited options until the regulations are altered. Notably, the nonprofit organization Animal Welfare International has advocated for a ban on the use of live animals in circuses.
Previous Hunt for Another Beast
The almost same thing occurred in July when there was a search for a mystery animal called the "Beast of Berlin." However, the hunt concluded with no lioness being located in response to panicked local reports.
Authorities in Germany have decided that there is no acute danger to residents of a neighborhood on the outskirts of Berlin, where the lioness was previously thought to be loose. A hunt for the rumored predator yielded no results, and video analysis suggested it was a wild boar.