Zoos are required to provide policies and procedures for the safety of the animals and visitors. And as part of their protocol, management is required to conduct “escape drills” just in case an animal breaks loose. A few days ago, the Tobe Zoological Park, a popular zoo in Tobe, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, carried out their countermeasures and safety procedures to ready their staff (of course) for the unexpected.
In an article published by Indy100, the drill is performed annually, “in the event of an earthquake or other incidents that could lead to the lions escaping.” Of course, we don’t expect a real, wild animal in this escape drill. So to make it look more terrifying and realistic, the management opted for a man dressed up in a brown-colored onesie with a lion mascot head instead. In a video posted by Spoon & Tamago, you’ll see employees guiding the visitors to safety. Aside from that, they were also equipped with survival tools such as net, air gun, and fake tranquilizer.
Tobe Zoo in Aichi conducted a lion escape drill today.
Note the expression on the actual lions faces.
pic.twitter.com/azuJYQhLCw
— Spoon & Tamago (@Johnny_suputama) June 22, 2019
However, the real lions—who had been watching the whole procedure—seemed confused and straight-up offended.
One Twitter user commented that doing the escape drill while the animals were around might not have been the wisest idea, “They’ve just taught the lions their emergency plan. I’m not sure that’s the smartest move.” While another online reader questioned which was the real lion, “I don’t know what [is] funnier, the man falling on the ground and pretending to be hurt or the lions watching.
What a good day to be online!