A lion prowling freely through the streets of a town near Rome caused terror among residents after escaping from the circus.
Shocking footage shared of the lion on social media showed him roaming round the streets of the small town, which has a population of just over 40,000 people. Residents were ordered to stay inside their homes as authorities tried to find the beast.
One clip showed the beast walking nonchalantly past their car as lights from emergency vehicles flash in the background. In another, the lion walks down the street at night, and glances towards a person who is filming him from inside their home. Alessandro Grando, mayor of Ladispoli, said on social media that local police had been helping staff from the circus search for the animal.
He wrote: "A lion escaped from the circus. Please pay full attention and avoid travel until further notice." Mr Grando added that the animal had been traced to watercourse next to the site - and was forced to respond to furious locals who questioned why the circus was allowed into the town with dangerous live animals.
After hours of chasing the lion was sedated at about 10pm local time. Grando confirmed the news on Facebook, writing: "Important notice. The lion was sedated and captured. Now it will be taken over by the circus staff. Thank you State Police, Carabinieri, Firefighters, Provincial Police, ASL and all the volunteers who served during these hours of great learning.
"I hope this episode can raise some conscience and that we can finally put an end to animal exploitation in circuses."
Earlier in the day Grando said he had limited authority over whether the circuses get to operate, writing: "Unfortunately, we cannot ban such circuses from coming to our city. In 2017, we tried but lost the appeal in court, incurring legal costs. Until the rules change, we will not be able to do otherwise." The Animal Welfare International charity has called for legislation to ban circuses with live animals.
In June, the hunt for a mysterious animal dubbed the 'Beast of Berlin' ended with no lioness being found following terrified local reports. German authorities determined that there was "no acute danger" to people in an area on the edge of Berlin where the potentially dangerous animal was spotted, and that they no longer believed a lioness is at large.
A search turned up no sign of the rumoured predator, and experts who analysed a video concluded that it may have been a wild boar the whole time. Police were first alerted to the animal in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin's city limits, at around midnight on Wednesday when people reported what appeared to be a big cat chasing a wild boar. The informants also provided a video - but multiple searches only turned up a family of wild boars.