INFORMATION:
On Sunday at the Dallas Zoo, a male lion killed a lioness in front of a crowd of zoo visitors, for reasons still unknown. The 5-year-old female, Johari, died from a fatal bite on the neck by one of two male lions in the exhibit, though no-one is sure of which lion was responsible for the attack. The Dallas Zoo's vice president of animal operations and wellfare, Lynn Kramer, was shocked upon receiving the news; despite his 30-some years of experience with his career. "We really don't know what caused this. I've never seen a cat kill another cat before," stated Kramer. Oddly enough, though the five lions that were in the exhibition were unrelated, they had been raised together as a family for several years.
Quite a few witnesses to the tragic event said it seemed like the animals were just playing and roughhousing at the beginning, until they started taking things a little too far. According to witness Michael Henshaw, some of the other witnesses that had children with them left the exhibit, while the rest of them stood there gaping in shock/horror. "It was something you don't - you can't look away," quoted Henshaw. "You don't really expect to see that when you're at the zoo." According to Dylan Parker, another witness, the lions were roughhousing, then all of a sudden things became really intense. Both male lions closed in on the female, attacking her. When the bigger male eased up, the smaller one decided to go in for the kill; pinning the lioness to the ground, dragging her by her neck, and then just laying there for a good 10 minutes until she stopped moving.
The male lions have been taken elsewhere and separated for safety and testing purposes (to try to figure out what caused it/what went wrong to cause such behavior). However, the remaining females were put back in the exhibit on Monday. Zoo spokeswoman Laurie Holloway informed the Dallas Morning News that they are not planning on returning the males to the same enclosure anytime soon.
RESPONSE:
I think this is a horrible, very sad event and I have no idea what could have gone wrong. All I know is that I hope they'll find answers soon, treat the male lions with whatever treatment they need ASAP, and that things like this won't happen again. I can't even imagine the horror of the witnesses of the event. I certainly wouldn't expect to be petting giraffes, admiring peacocks, and laughing at otters and then all of a sudden turn around to see a lion getting mauled by another lion. I'd have nightmares for sure!
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/18/female-lion-killed-by-another-at-dallas-zoo-as-families-look-on/
On Sunday at the Dallas Zoo, a male lion killed a lioness in front of a crowd of zoo visitors, for reasons still unknown. The 5-year-old female, Johari, died from a fatal bite on the neck by one of two male lions in the exhibit, though no-one is sure of which lion was responsible for the attack. The Dallas Zoo's vice president of animal operations and wellfare, Lynn Kramer, was shocked upon receiving the news; despite his 30-some years of experience with his career. "We really don't know what caused this. I've never seen a cat kill another cat before," stated Kramer. Oddly enough, though the five lions that were in the exhibition were unrelated, they had been raised together as a family for several years.
Quite a few witnesses to the tragic event said it seemed like the animals were just playing and roughhousing at the beginning, until they started taking things a little too far. According to witness Michael Henshaw, some of the other witnesses that had children with them left the exhibit, while the rest of them stood there gaping in shock/horror. "It was something you don't - you can't look away," quoted Henshaw. "You don't really expect to see that when you're at the zoo." According to Dylan Parker, another witness, the lions were roughhousing, then all of a sudden things became really intense. Both male lions closed in on the female, attacking her. When the bigger male eased up, the smaller one decided to go in for the kill; pinning the lioness to the ground, dragging her by her neck, and then just laying there for a good 10 minutes until she stopped moving.
The male lions have been taken elsewhere and separated for safety and testing purposes (to try to figure out what caused it/what went wrong to cause such behavior). However, the remaining females were put back in the exhibit on Monday. Zoo spokeswoman Laurie Holloway informed the Dallas Morning News that they are not planning on returning the males to the same enclosure anytime soon.
RESPONSE:
I think this is a horrible, very sad event and I have no idea what could have gone wrong. All I know is that I hope they'll find answers soon, treat the male lions with whatever treatment they need ASAP, and that things like this won't happen again. I can't even imagine the horror of the witnesses of the event. I certainly wouldn't expect to be petting giraffes, admiring peacocks, and laughing at otters and then all of a sudden turn around to see a lion getting mauled by another lion. I'd have nightmares for sure!
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/18/female-lion-killed-by-another-at-dallas-zoo-as-families-look-on/
The Dallas Zoo seems to have more disturbing issues than most zoos. It may just be that we happen to hear about it more since we all live in/around Dallas. Hopefully they can find out why this happened and prevent any future sad events like it.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad! I can't imagine going to the zoo for a fun day and then having a loved one get killed as a result of the animals that are supposed to be tamed.
ReplyDelete