Captured! The escaped circus lion is eventually captured and tranquilized before being loaded into the car after wandering the streets near Rome for seven hours
- Big cat named Kimba escaped from Rony Roller Circus in Ladispoli, Lazio
- Locals were told to stay in their homes while authorities tried to capture the lion
Footage showed the moment a lion was captured after escaping from a circus and spotted walking down a street near Rome.
The animal, named Kimba, was tied up, tranquilized and then loaded into a van.
It is still unknown how the big cat escaped from Circus Rony Roller, where it was eventually returned.
A terrified local resident shared a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the animal walking through the streets of Ladispoli, home to around 40,000 people.
The woman filming could be heard saying “Mamma mia” as the lion, fleeing a circus, walked confidently down the quiet road.
Some people were even trapped in their cars. One resident uploaded a video showing the animal walking past his vehicle, with blue emergency lights flashing in the background.
Locals were told by authorities to stay in their homes while they tried to catch the big cat.
The mayor of Ladispoli, Alessandro Grando, told locals: ‘A lion has escaped from the circus. Please pay close attention and avoid traveling until further notice.’
Footage showed the moment a lion was captured after escaping from a circus and seen walking down a street near Rome
Locals were told by authorities to stay in their homes as they tried to catch the big cat, known as Kimba
A terrified local shared the shocking footage on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed the animal walking through the streets of Ladispoli, home to around 40,000 people.
A shocking video has captured the moment an escaped lion casually walks down a residential street in Rome
It took authorities about seven hours to capture the lion and he had to be shot twice with tranquilizers the first time he woke up, according to a local news channel. Corriere della Sera.
The site reported that the lion was able to escape several times and was believed to have been caught and stunned for the first time between Vialle Mediterraneo and Via Nicosia at 3:00 PM CET.
It then managed to get away again and was tranquilized a second time at 8.30pm before finally being captured by police at 10pm.
Hit by complaints from residents, Mr. Grando said he had not authorized an animal circus in their town, but also that he could not block it.
He said the city had tried to ban them in 2017 but lost the case at the Lazio Regional Administrative Court.
He confirmed the big cat’s capture on Facebook, writing: ‘The lion was tranquilized and captured. Now it is taken over by the circus staff.
“Thank you State Police, Carabinieri, firefighters, local and provincial police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning.
“I hope that this episode can awaken the conscience and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses.”