WATCH: Circus lion who escaped and wandered around Italy's seaside town of Ladispoli has been sedated and captured

A circus lion recently escaped, leading to panic among the residents of Ladispoli in Rome. Thе Guardian statеd that thе lion was roaming on thе strееts for a long timе until hе was sеdatеd and capturеd in a swamp nеar thе Sanguinara strеam following a sеarch opеration conductеd by thе policе dеpartmеnt.

Although thе situation did not go out of control and thе lion did not attack anyone, rеsidеnts wеrе advisеd to stay insidе thеir homеs until thе animal was caught. According to Thе Sun, vеts attеmptеd to capturе thе lion by attеmpting to sеdatе it with a tranquilizеr but things did not happеn as еxpеctеd sincе thе animal continuеd to walk whilе limping.

The post confirming the lion's capture (Image via Alessandro Grando Sindaco di Ladispoli/Facebook)

Mayor of Ladispoli Alessandro Grando also shared a Facebook post confirming the capture of the animal and wrote:

"Now it will be taken over by the circus staff. Thank you State Police, Carabineri, Firefighters, Local and Provincial Police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning. I hope this episode can raise some conscience, and that we can finally put an end to animal exploitation in circuses."

People who witnessed the circus lion from inside their homes recorded the animal's movements, and the sightings have already gone viral on social media platforms.

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The circus lion was spotted at different places before being captured

Ladispoli, Rome residents were terrified after a circus lion was spotted walking on the streets. People were warned about the animal's escape through Facebook by Alessandro Grando, revealing that the lion was from a circus in Viale Mediterraneo and was seen near a water course. He added:

"Circus staff are carrying out seizue operations, with the support of law enforcement who quickly intervened on the scene. Please pay utmost attention and avoid any changes until further notice."

Warning about the lion wandering the streets (Images via Alessandro Grando Sindaco di Ladispoli/Facebook)

He also addressed the questions of the public, where they asked him the reasons for bringing a circus to Ladispoli with animals and authorizing them at the same time.

"The answer is that I haven't authorized anything, it's not my responsibility to do it, and that unfortunately we can't forbid circuses with animals from coming to our city. In 2017 we tried but we lost the appeal to the TAR and we also had to reimburse the legal fees to the plaintiffs. Until the rules change we can't do any other way."

According to The Mirror, the circus lion was nowhere to be seen when the search started. The animal was reportedly spotted at Kleinmachnow at first. The Sun also revealed the name of the circus lion as Kimba, and people began to record him on video as they saw him from inside their houses.

The lion was conscious when he was tranquilized at first, and he continued to walk and limp simultaneously. After being sedated for another time, the animal was captured at around 10 p.m. Meanwhile, the circus authorities investigate the circumstances leading to the lion's escape.