Lion escapes from circus in Italy

Kimba the lion decided he’d like a night out, having escaped the circus. He went for a wander around the town of Ladispoli in Italy, causing much distress to local residents like Gerardo Guarino who was concerned for his wife’s safety.

Gerardo Guarino: "The news scared me a bit – a lion, on the loose. I called my wife and said there's a lion around so be careful, in fact if you come home it's better."

The eight year old lion roamed around the town for five hours on a Saturday night with police, vets and circus staff tracking his moves. Having finally been sedated and returned to his cage alongside his brothers and sisters, Kimba appears to be unbothered, and not at all traumatised.

Rony Vassallo, who’s responsible for the animals at the Rony Roller Circus, had no concerns over Kimba causing any harm.

Rony Vassallo: "I can understand, for a normal person to find a lion – for me it's normal. In fact, I didn't have any fear that he might do something because he's an animal who is used to people, used to other animals."

In fact, Vassallo was more concerned that Kimba may be harmed. Even local resident Barbara Rosolino was impressed by Kimba’s good nature.

Barbara Rosolino: "Yes, I was a little scared but afterwards from the images, from the videos you could see that he was so good."

Kimba was raised in the circus along with 8 other big cats who perform circus acts alongside elephants, camels and horses. Whilst there's no ban on the use of exotic animals in circus acts in Italy, the mayor of Ladispoli has used the event to call for an end to the use of animals in circus performances.

Meanwhile, Kimba continues to chill after his night out on the town. View Less