Lion adopted by famous actor goes missing; search progressing

CHENNAI: A lion brought from Karnataka to the Vandalur zoo in Tamil Nadu has gone missing. The six-year-old male lion, Sheryaar, was first released into the safari zone on Thursday. The zoo informed the authorities when it did not return to its enclosure even after the time it was supposed to return. The lion has not returned to the enclosure till Saturday evening. This is the lion adopted by Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan.

The search for the lion is progressing. The lion was brought to Vandalur from the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru. There are presently six lions in the Lion Safari zone. Only two of these are allowed to be seen by visitors. The rest are in cages.

A special mission has been appointed under the leadership of the Chief Wildlife Warden to find the lion. Five teams have started special inspections. Visitors have been banned from the safari area. There is no need to worry, said zoo director Ritto Cyriac. The authorities also said that there is a high perimeter wall and barbed wire around the safari area.

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park is located in Vandalur in Chengalpet district of Tamil Nadu. Spread over an area of 1500 acres, the park is the largest in South India. There are 2400 animals and birds in this park. The Vandalur Zoo is home to a wide range of animals, including tigers, lions, bears, elephants, giraffes, deer, buffaloes and several species of birds.