Jaguar, lions and tigers escape from German zoo

Police killed a bear and were searching for two lions, two tigers and a jaguar that broke out of their cages in a zoo in western Germany on Friday.

Local broadcaster SWR had initially reported that lions and pumas had broken out of the zoo, but police were able to determine that the missing animals were two lions, two tigers and a jaguar, the dpa news agency reported. A bear was shot, but dpa had no further details.

The zoo did not pick up its phone and police did not have any further details about the developing situation.

It was not clear how the animals escaped nor exactly when they got out.

Owned by the Wallpott family, the zoo located close to the border with Luxembourg is home to around 400 animals, including a Siberian tiger and lions.

Friday's escape came two years after another similar case in eastern Germany, when two lions broke out of their cages at the Leipzig zoo.

One of the lions was shot dead while the other was eventually brought back into captivity.