Lioness shot dead after escaping from South Korean farm

It is unclear whether the lioness posed a threat, or whether authorities had tried to use a tranquiliser dart to catch it alive

A lioness. Photo: Mustafiz Mamun

-A lion wasshotdeadinSouthKorea on Mondayafterescapingfroma privately ownedfarmand triggering a search by more than 100 police officers and the evacuation of dozens of campersfroma nearby camping area.

Thelioness, named Sasoonee, was reported to be on the loose at around 7:30 a.m. (2230 GMT Sunday) in thesoutheastern county of Goryeong. It was believed to have escaped through a back door of thefarmthat was left open, the Yonhap news agency said, citing thefarmowner.

The animal wasshotdeadafterbeing discovered by authorities in bushes near thefarmabout an hour later, a fire official told Reuters.

The official said she had no information on whether thelionessposed a threat, or whether authorities had tried to use a tranquiliser dart to catch it alive.

Yonhap reported that thefarmoffered tours to the public to see its animals.

Photographs released by fire authorities showed thelionesshiding in bushes and its bodyafterit wasshot.

Authorities issued a safety alert, advising the public tocall an emergency hotlineif they spotted the lion, and dozens of campers on a nearby mountain briefly took refuge in a town as police searched, Yonhap reported.

The lion was the latest animal to escapefromcaptivity inSouthKorea in recent months.

Azebragot out of a zoo in the capital, Seoul, before being caught in March, and one of two chimpanzees that ran awayfroma zoo in thesoutheastern city of Daegu diedafterbeingshotwith a tranquiliser dart last week.