Chennai: A five-year-old male lion named Sheryaar sent officials at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur into a frantic search after he went missing from public view within the Lion Safari enclosure last Friday. The lion, which was brought to the zoo from Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park in 2023, was one of two released into the 25-acre open-air safari zone for visitors. While his companion returned, Sheryaar failed to appear, prompting an immediate closure of the safari and launching a large-scale operation to find him.

The primary breakthrough in the case came from the sky. As traditional search parties scoured the dense 25-acre forested area, the zoo administration deployed drone technology to pinpoint the animal’s location. The drones, including thermal imaging models

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