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Japanese zoo staff chase furry fake lion in escape drill

A lion escapes from its zoo enclosure and charges into a net-wielding member of zoo staff before being tranquilized and captured. This scene, which unfolded on Saturday at the Tobe Zoological Park in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, would have been quite terrifying if it weren’t a drill and the “lion” a member of staff in a furry costume.

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As visitors are hurried away, the would-be lion ambles around on two legs, under the skeptical gaze of the zoo’s real lions, a zoo video published by Japanese news agency Mainichi News Group shows. The drill was intended to prepare staff and visitors for an emergency situation after an earthquake. The zoo noted on its official Facebook page that similar drills take place every year, but this is the first time they have held one while the park was open. No humans or animals were hurt during the drill.

A British firm starts containment of oil spill from stricken tanker off Oman

BEIRUT (AP) — A British company said Thursday it has been hired to salvage a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman's coast and stop an oil spill that is threatening wildlife as it reaches the country's shoreline following its dramatic spread in recent weeks. Satellite images have shown that oil from the tanker Caroline Bezengi has exponentially spread over hundreds of square kilometers during stormy weather, endangering a marine protected area. The region's “Khareef” monsoon season peaks in July and August. Ambrey, a UK-based maritime risk and response company, said its personnel boarded the vessel with help from the Omani air force to assess its condition before stabilizing it. The vessel has been grounded off Qabiliyah Island in southwestern Oman following an explosion of unclear cause in early June. Its cargo previously has been estimated at more than 800,000 barrels.
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