FACT CHECK: No, Lions Did Not Escape From Mississippi Zoo
A post shared on social media purportedly photos of lions that escaped from the Jackson, Mississippi zoo.
Verdict: False
The caption is inaccurate. The photo is from 2015.
Fact Check:
A shooting between two correctional officers occurred at a Mississippi prison, local news outlet WLBT 3 reported. A fight broke at East Mississippi Correctional Facility on Tuesday and the altercation turned deadly when one officer shot and killed the other in the parking lot.
The Facebook post purports lions escaped from a Mississippi zoo. The post shares an alleged photo of two lions walking free after they escaped from the zoo.
The caption reads, “Escaped from Jackson Zoo a few days ago spotted on Hwy 43 outside of Canton Citjy [sic] limit heading North.”
The claim is inaccurate. Other credible news outlets, such as USA Today, debunked that this incident occurred. The Jackson, Mississippi zoo does not have lions. There is also no mention of any lions on their website. The zoo contains Pygmy Hippo, Red Ruffed Lemur, Sumatran Tiger, White-handed Gibbon, Asiatic Black Bear.
The photo used in some posts is from 2015 in Africa. The website WildLife Act shows the same photo of the lions with a date of May 26, 2015. The Lioness in the photo has a collar on that allows for her to be monitored for conservation purposes. (Did Donald Trump Deliver A Bigger Tax Cut Than Ronald Reagan?)
This is not the first piece of misinformation that has been shared online. Check Your Fact debunked a claim that a video shows protestors chanting “we want Trump” during a Biden rally.