It's been almost 50 years since a trio of circus lions got out of their enclosure as they were being transported by truck on the old Antioch Bridge.
It was Sept. 8, 1965, when six lions were being taken from Antioch to a performance in Rio Vista in two cages. As the Carson & Barnes Circus truck made its way across the span, one of the cage door's opened and three female lions made their way out.
Local police and a helicopter were brought to the site to help retrieve the trio. Two of the lions were recovered, one with a lasso, the other with tranquiler darts in brush near the span, reported the Associated Press.
The third lion couldn't be located and parents worried about their children walking home from school. Sadly, the third lion, 450-pound Jezebel, was found later in the day in the San Joaquin River, having drowned.
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