Zebra killed after being impaled by rhino at Colchester zoo
Zebra killed after being impaled by rhino at Colchester zoo
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Rhino ‘unintentionally’ punctured zebra’s stomach in enclosure they shared, zoo says. A male zebra has died after a female rhino unintentionally punctured his stomach, a zoo in Essex has said. The rhino, called Astrid, had been sparring with her son Tayo when she tried to move Ziggy out of the way last Friday. Colchester zoo said Ziggy died of his injuries within minutes.
The zoo said Ziggy “sadly passed away following an incident in our mixed-species African habitat”. “Ziggy had lived happily with the other species, including the rhino, in this habitat since November 2017 when he arrived,” it added. “On Friday, two of the rhinos, Astrid and her son Tayo, were sparring with one another, which is a regular and natural behaviour for this species. On this occasion, unfortunately Astrid attempted to move Ziggy out of the way and in doing so unintentionally punctured his stomach and he died of these injuries a few minutes later.”.
The zoo said it reviewed its care for animals to minimise the risk of such incidents recurring. “As a result, the animal care team will continue to closely monitor the animals’ behaviour in the coming weeks.”. The zoo added that such incidents were extremely rare and “we are devastated by this loss. Ziggy was a much-loved animal who will be dearly missed.
