A family of lions escaped their habitat at a Sydney zoo on Monday, leading to a lockdown at the park.
Taronga Zoo said an “integrity issue” with one of the fences in the lion enclosure allowed for the escape, in which one adult and four cubs were loose in a small closed-off area.
The lions escaped at 6.30am on Wednesday and were free in an area separate from the rest of the zoo for “less than 10 minutes” before the emergency response was activated,
A two-metre fence separated the creatures from the rest of the zoo.
“All persons on site were moved to safe zones. Four of the lions calmly returned to their dens, and one cub was safely tranquillised. The cub is now awake and well,” The zoo said in a statement later on Wednesday.
Members of the public were on site, staying in safari-style tents as part of a “roar and snore” experience.
“The alarm went off and the zookeepers came running down, screaming, ‘code one, code one, everyone get out of the tents’,” Magnus Perri, who was camping over with his family, told Guardian Australia.
“We had to leave our belongings and they took us to a cabin to hide. We thought it was a drill until we heard on one of the staff’s radios that the lions had escaped. It was pretty shocking. Imagine facing a lion, it was our worst nightmare.”
Taronga Zoo is set in a leafy, affluent neighbourhood with views of Sydney's famous opera house and harbour bridge. It opened as usual later that day.
Zookeepers checked the fences of the lion enclosure for damage.
The zoo has two adult lions, Maya and Ato, and their five cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malika, Zuri and Ayanna.
A fully-grown male African lion can weigh as much as 250 kilograms, while females get as heavy as 180kg.
A two-year-old Bengal tiger escaped its enclosure at Taronga Zoo in 1946, roaming the grounds in what a newspaper described as a “frenzy of fear” before it was shot and killed by a keeper.
More than 20 police officers rushed to a suburb in Sydney's west in 1982 after a lion was spotted near a soft drinks factory. The animal was later identified as a large cat called Ginger.
One of Sydney's most famous animal escapes happened in February 2020, when baffled onlookers watched three baboons scampering about an inner-city car park after they bolted from a medical research centre.
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Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
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Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
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Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
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Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
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Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2017 Beat Marin Cilic
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
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