Lion shot dead in South Korea after ‘escaping through unlocked door’

A lioness has been shot dead in South Korea after it escaped from a farm, triggering a mass search and the evacuation of a neighbouring campsite.

More than 100 police officers searched for the animal - named Sasoonee – and dozens of campers were forced to vacate a nearby camping area, moving to a nearby mountain, after she was reported missing at approximately 7.30 on Sunday morning.

Authorities believe that she escaped through the back door of a farm that had been left open, Yonhap news agency reported, adding that the farm in question offers tours to the public to see its animals.

According to one fire official, the lioness was discovered in the bushes after an hour and shot dead.

However, the official could not comment on whether the lioness posed a threat or on whether authorities had attempted to use a tranquiliser dart to catch the lioness alive.

Following the animal’s escape, a safety alert was issued with an emergency hotline number provided to the public to report any sightings.

A string of animals have escaped from captivity in South Korea in recent months, with a zebra fleeing a zoo in the capital, Seoul, in March. Elsewhere, one of two chimpanzees that escaped a zoo in the southeastern city of Daegu died after being shot with a tranquiliser dart last week.

Meanwhile, five lions briefly escaped their enclosure at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia in 2022, with authorities rushing guests to safety. The event prompted an investigation into the “significant” safety breach.

The lions returned to the zoo after a “code one alert” – the most severe one on the zoo’s emergency warning list – was issued to local residents.

Likewise, in 2018, two lions, two tigers and a jaguar escaped in western Germany after a storm destroyed the fences of their enclosure, later recaptured after being located by a drone.