Lyrebird learns emergency alarm after Taronga’s lion-proof fence fail

Animal mischief continues making headlines for Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. The latest overnight celebrity is a resident lyrebird, caught mimicking* the zoo’s evacuation* alarm.

The clever native bird evidently heard the emergency warning sounding across the zoo on November 2, when five lions escaped their enclosure. The bird has since started reproducing the recording with amusing accuracy.

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Taronga went into emergency lockdown after its male lion and four cubs escaped their enclosure. Papa Ato and 16-month-old cubs Khari, Luzuko, Malike and Zuri set off the staff’s well-drilled* emergency response when they slipped out for a family stroll.

More than 50 visitors, including schoolchildren, were camped overnight as part of the Roar and Snore experience at the time.

Fortunately the big cats were exploring another secure zone and the zoo later confirmed no staff or visitors were at risk at any time. Lion handlers safely returned the animal adventurers to their exhibit* and Taronga was able to open as normal that day.

The question of precisely how the lions managed to breach their enclosure in the first place was answered when the zoo announced that fastenings of the mesh “lion-proof” fence failed, allowing Ato and his cubs to spend ten minutes outside their area.

“Preliminary independent engineering advice has confirmed that swages – clamps that hold wire cables together – failed, enabling a lacing cable that connects the fence mesh to a tension cable to unravel,” a statement read.

“The lions were then able to create and squeeze through a gap.”

A spokeswoman also said that staff risked their lives to search for two unaccounted-for school students in the zoo at the time.

“All our emergency protocols* were followed as they should have been, and two students who were initially in a nearby bathroom were safely escorted to join their classmates in the B2B House — a designated* safe house — within minutes,” the spokeswoman said.

“Our staff reacted in a highly professional way to the incident and resolved it quickly, including the process of moving guests to a range of designated safe houses. We thank our staff and also the exemplary* co-operation of guests.”

She also said the opening in the fence had since been fixed, but it was unclear when the lions would return to public view.

“The lions will not be back out on their main exhibit while we await further engineering advice,” she said.

“This advice will guide us on any further repairs or reinforcements needed. We would then seek approval from the Department of Primary Industries before returning the lions to their main exhibit.

“Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety of our people and guests and the welfare of our animals.

“While the zoo’s intention is to fully complete all works necessary as quickly as possible, the exact timing of the works schedule is dependent on the expert advice we receive.”

The spokeswoman said the fencing was “specially designed and engineered for zoo purposes”.

“In the interim, the lions will remain in a back-of-house area,” she said. “The lions remain well and appear to have had no adverse* reaction as a result of this event.”

GLOSSARY

• mimicking: imitating, closely copying action or speech
• evacuation: act of moving people from a dangerous place to safety
• well-drilled: rehearsed, practised many times
• exhibit: public display of something of interest, like art, animals and artefacts
• protocols: official procedures, formal system of rules for correct behaviour
• designated: officially named place or thing with a particular character or purpose
• exemplary: commendable, very good, an example to others
• adverse: having a negative or harmful effect on something

EXTRA READING

Lions on the loose at Taronga Zoo

Red panda’s three days on the run

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which native bird species has perfected Taronga’s emergency evacuation recording?
2. How did the bird come to hear the alarm and announcement?
3. How many animals caused Taronga’s recent emergency lockdown?
4. How did they manage to slip out of their enclosure?
5. Where are the animals now?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Animal mimic
This is an incredible mimic of the evacuation signal and alarm that this lyrebird obviously heard during the recent lion breakout. Lyrebirds are known to be great mimics of different noises they hear.

Put yourself in the position of a lyrebird in a zoo and brainstorm some of the different sounds they would commonly hear.

Regular noises a lyrebird in a zoo would hear regularly and may be able to mimic:

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Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Science; Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Do you think it is safe for the lions to go back into the display area at Taronga Zoo?

Write a short story about being a student at the overnight camp when they heard the evacuation siren and learned about the lions being on the loose.

Time: allow 50 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Personal and Social; Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Don’t call me bird brain
"Bird brain" is an old saying that means stupid, but clearly the lyrebird is having the last laugh now. It now has the ability to cause quite a panic when it mimics the evacuation alarm.

Create a script between the lyrebird and a fellow animal, maybe even another lyrebird, about coming up with the idea of learning to mimic the alarm. Why might the bird have decided it was a good idea? Was it to be funny or cause panic? Was it part of a bigger plan?

Don’t forget to use the correct punctuation for dialogue so that we can distinguish who is talking.