Columbus Zoo Placed On Lockdown After Black Bear Cub Escapes

Earlier today, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was placed on lockdown after a black bear cub escaped from an exhibit. The Columbus Zoo made the following post about the incident on social media.

At approximately 11:15 a.m. our seven month old female black bear cub breached her exhibit containment and gained access to Zoo grounds. The Zoo went into immediate lockdown as part of our normal protocol and all guests were moved to safety. The lockdown was quickly downgraded to only the area around the cub. The Zoo's Emergency Response Team went into immediate action to assess the situation and formulated a plan to tranquilize and secure the animal. At approximately 11:30 a.m. the animal was contained. We will provide more details as they become available.

The Columbus Zoo also posted that zoo guests closest to the black bear habitat remain inside, while they moved a second cub that was in the outdoor habitat into a building. Both the cub that escaped as well as the one that remained in the habitat are now safely inside a zoo building.

According to the Columbus Zoo, the two female black bear cubs, Joanie and Stevie, were orphaned in the wild and arrived at the zoo just a few months ago.