During a recent circus performance in Luoyang, Henan Province, China, two lions managed to escape from their enclosure and enter the audience area.
Video footage of the incident shows the lions breaking free from a fence separating the stage from the audience, causing chaos and a stampede as frantic families tried to avoid being attacked.
One performer attempted to guide the lions back into their cage with a stick while being surrounded by onlookers. In the video, the lions can be seen walking around the edges of the cage, with one of them hopping onto a chair and approaching the other lion.
The situation turned dangerous when one of the lions jumped through a hoop held by a performer, dragging the performer along while circling the inside of the cage.
In a shocking turn of events, both lions then escaped the unlocked cage, and cameras captured the audience members fleeing the scene in a panic.
The video showed one of the lions walking around the car park as frightened visitors quickly exited the grounds.
Luckily, the animals were swiftly captured without any injuries or casualties. Authorities ordered the circus to suspend operations while they investigated the incident.
This frightening incident occurred just over a year after two huge lions caused panic at Singapore Airport when they escaped their cages while being transported to a plane. Fortunately, no people were injured and the escaped animals were captured and returned to their enclosures.
In an episode in the Grimsby, England, a real-life drama unfolded on the evening of March 7, 1991, when four lions escaped from Chipperfield’s Circus. The lions broke free after their cage was sabotaged, and roamed the streets of the town for over an hour before they were finally captured and returned to their cages. During the scary time the lions were out and about, Michael Strandt, a local dad, was viciously attacked by one of the lions as he rushed to protect his wife and young daughter.
Strandt sustained serious injuries, requiring 24 stitches after the lion sank its teeth into his neck and was lucky that a local police officer, Ron Harrison, intervened, ramming the lion with his patrol car and saving Strandt’s life.
These shocking incidents serve as a stark reminder of the potential risks associated with keeping wild animals in captivity.