Lions, tigers (a jaguar), a bear — oh my! Zoo escape grips German town

Frankfurt, Germany: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! In a brief but dramatic episode, two lions, two tigers, a jaguar and a bear were found to be missing from their enclosures in a zoo in western Germany on Friday, prompting an all-hands search effort from the police, the fire brigade and a team of veterinarians.

The drama peaked midmorning when the bear was discovered — and shot dead.

Then a local broadcaster (mistakenly) reported that some of the big cats might have slipped from the 30-hectare compound of the Eifel Zoo in Lünebach, near the border with Luxembourg and Belgium. Residents in surrounding areas were told to stay indoors until all animals were accounted for.

In the end, a drone sighted the remaining escapees inside the zoo compound. They were tranquilised and recaptured, German news outlets reported. All are now safely back in their enclosures, and fences are being checked, said Marc Pötz, a spokesman for the regional emergency centre.

It was not immediately clear how or when exactly the animals escaped, but heavy thunderstorms overnight had resulted in bad flooding across the zoo, which is on a riverbank. Some animals might have been swept from their enclosures.