These lions just couldn't wait to be king.
Officials at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia issued a Code 1 alert on Nov. 2 local time when five lions escaped their enclosure and briefly roamed the zoo at about 7:30 a.m., according to Australian outlet News.com.au.
In an official statement from the popular zoo, officials said: "An emergency situation occurred this morning at Taronga Zoo Sydney when five lions were located outside their enclosure. The Zoo has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident. All persons on site were moved to safe zones and there are no injuries to guests or staff."
The statement said that the lions had been recaptured and "All animals are now in their exhibit where they are being closely monitored." The zoo added that it opened as normal on Nov. 2.
The lions' bid for freedom happened before the zoo opened to the public on Wednesday morning, Australian outlet 7 News reported.
News.com.au also reported that police were called to the zoo as a precaution while lion trainers and zookeepers worked to figure out how the big cats got out of their enclosure.
Australia's Nine News reported that the lions escaped through a hole in the fence of their exposure, which zoo workers worked quickly to repair.
The Taronga zoo is home to two adult lions and five cubs. The adult lions—Ato and Lwazi—are brothers and the fathers of the five cubs who made their debut in July 2022.
Ato and Lwazi arrived at the zoo together and now care for their own pride of cubs side by side.