Staff Reporter:
A lioness was put back into its cage at the National Zoo in Mirpur in the capital on Friday night, almost three hours after it somehow managed to venture out.
The zoo’s Veterinary Surgeon Dr Md Waliur Rahman confirmed the development.
The lioness was put back inside the cage around 7:30pm, he said. No one was hurt in the incident as the lioness could not breach the netted protected area set up outside her cage.
Gunmen had evacuated all the visitors and cordoned off the area. However, it was initially difficult to shoot a tranquiliser dart at her due to the position she took near a water pump, said the zoo’s Director Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Talukdar.
The lioness managed to step out of its cage around 4:45pm, he added. The gate of the cage possibly left unlocked allowing the carnivore to escape, Talukdar said, adding a full probe will reveal the real reason.
