Shocking moment a LION sneaks through quiet streets near Rome after escaping from circus as authorities lock down the area

A shocking video has captured the moment an escaped lion casually walks down a residential street in Rome.

A terrified local shared the shocking footage on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed the animal walking through the streets of Ladispoli, home to around 40,000 people.

The woman filming could be heard saying “mamma mia” as the lion walked confidently down the quiet road.

Some people were even trapped in their cars. One resident uploaded a video showing the animal walking past his vehicle, with blue emergency lights flashing in the background.

Locals were told by authorities to stay in their homes as they tried to catch the big cat, known as Kimba.

The mayor of Ladispoli, Alessandro Grando, told locals: ‘A lion has escaped from the circus. Please pay close attention and avoid traveling until further notice.’

It took authorities about seven hours to capture the lion and he had to be shot twice with tranquilizers the first time he woke up, according to a local news channel. Corriere della Sera.

The newspaper reported that the lion managed to escape several times and was probably caught and tranquilized for the first time at 3:00 PM CET between Vialle Mediterraneo and Via Nicosia.

It then managed to get away again and was tranquilized a second time at 8.30pm before it was finally caught by police at 10pm.

Hit by complaints from residents, Mr. Grando said he had not authorized a circus in their town, but also stated that he could not block it.

He confirmed the big cat’s capture on Facebook, writing: ‘The lion was tranquilized and captured. Now it is taken over by the circus staff.

“Thank you State Police, Carabinieri, firefighters, local and provincial police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning.

“I hope that this episode can awaken the conscience and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses.”