Officials from the Indianapolis Zoo stated that a lion died in a fight with another lion. The zoo revealed that on Friday that an adult female, Zuri, attacked 10-year-old male African lion Nyack in their outdoor yard Monday before the zoo opened for the day. Nyack didn’t make it but Zuri is OK.
In a news release, animal care staff revealed that they heard “an unusual amount” of roaring from the outdoor lion yard. When they responded, zoo keepers saw Zuri being aggressive with Nyack in the presence of the lions’ 3-year-old daughter, Sukari.
Zoo workers tried to break up the lions, but were unsuccessful. In the end, Zuri held Nyack by the neck until he stopped moving. An autopsy confirmed that Nyack died of suffocation from injuries to his neck.
The zoo said the two lions had been housed together for eight years and produced three cubs in 2015. Nyack was on loan from the San Diego Zoo. However, daily logs kept by staff showed no unusual aggression, injuries or wounds between the two before.
Since the incident, officials have been conducting a review to find out what led up to the fight between Zuri and Nyack. Additionally, there are no plans to change how the lions are managed.
Nyack “was a magnificent lion and he will be greatly missed,” zoo officials said in a statement.