Leo the Lion Article

Lion Loose

Pandemonium has fallen in the Northern District of Colchester early Saturday morning after and fully grown lion escaped Colchester Zoo. Leo the Lion (no joke) escaped his enclosure around 6am on the 2^nd of September and is yet to be recovered by the Zoo staff or the Emergency Animal Response Unit (EARU). Derek Krewe, Zoo manager, 45 made a statement earlier today claiming 'no effort or expense is being spared in the recovery of the animal' also the the enclosures at Colchester Zoo are 'state of the art and completely secure, he described Saturday's events as a 'freak accident'. Conversely Zoe Shurl, 26, Head of Cats at Colchester Zoo had quite a different view of the events on Saturday descrying the enclosures as 'aged and outdated' she also claimed that 'the Zoo and in particular the Large mammal department are grossly understaffed and underfunded'. Ms Shurl blamed the lions escape on the 'poor quality of the enclosure both for security and comfort for the cats and the lack of training for the staff'. Overall something to worry about considering that that Leo enclosure was shared by seven she-lions and several cubs. Colchester Council member Richard  Sprinfeild, 59, told us that 'the culture budget for the Colchester Constituency has been radically reduced, combined with a fall in Zoo visits has led to a lack funding for new enclosures to be built, despite the fact that they were due to be replaced earlier this year.