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A zebra who was in an African enclosure in Dublin Zoo dies after being attacked by a rhino.Two other zebras went up to the rhino and for one reason or another bit its ass. The Rhino was , obviously pissed off so chased them and got one female zebra and killed her. aaawwwwww
John Mooney
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } Dublin Zoo’s new African savanna enclosure, which contains a mixture of indigenous African species, lived up to its claims of authenticity when a zebra was killed by a white rhino the week before it was officially opened by president Mary McAleese.
Zanta, an eight-year-old female rhinoceros, fatally wounded Killarney while chasing two other zebra which had bitten its rear. The animals had been allowed to mix in the new enclosure, which also contains giraffe, ostrich, and scimitar-horned oryx. The rhinos have now been removed.
Paul O’Donoghue, an assistant director at the zoo, said the species had been mixing together for several days before the incident occurred on the afternoon of April 2.
“The rhino didn’t mean to kill the zebra; our staff witnessed what happened,” he said. “Zanta chased two zebra which had annoyed her by biting her rear end, and accidentally hit Killarney during the chase. The zebra ran into an indoor shelter. We assumed that she wasn’t seriously injured, but she died a short time later.”
The white rhino, usually a placid animal, is said to have raised the zebra several centimetres off the ground in the collision. The impact would have been similar to being hit by a speeding truck.
A post-mortem examination carried out on the dead zebra by a vet at University College Dublin confirmed the death was caused by the rhino’s horn.
“Rhino and zebra usually intermingle in the wild, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be kept together in zoos,” said O'Donoghue. “In fact, we acquired Zanta from a South African game park where she was kept with other species including zebra.
“We have segregated the rhinos from the other savanna species since the accident. We are going to place a fence between them for another while before allowing them to mingle again. It might be a good idea to let the rhinos get used to having other animals wandering around before we take down the fence.”
White rhinos, which can weigh 3,600kg and grow to four meters in length and 1.8 meters in height, are slightly bigger than black rhinos, but generally have a less volatile temper.
White rhinos are endangered in Africa, where about 17,000 are left, many of them living in nature reserves and game parks where they are protected from poachers by armed guards. The species are illegally hunted for their horns, which are used in traditional Far Eastern medicines and to make dagger handles in the Middle East.
Small populations of the species, the world’s largest land mammal after African elephants, survive in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland and Mozambique.
Dublin Zoo has enjoyed some success in breeding white rhinos. Last June, one cow gave birth to a female calf, the first born in Dublin in 14 years.
Dublin Zoo’s African savanna exhibit, which covers 22,000sq meters, was built on land which was part of the neighbouring estate of Aras an Uachtarain. Its construction involved the excavation and movement of 5,000 tonnes of sandstone boulders transported from Donegal, and 6,000 cubic metres of sand.
“What happened to Killarney was a tragedy but we plan to press ahead with the savanna project,” said O’Donoghue. “It was an accident. Zanta is a placid animal.”
A zebra who was in an African enclosure in Dublin Zoo dies after being attacked by a rhino.Two other zebras went up to the rhino and for one reason or another bit its ass. The Rhino was , obviously pissed off so chased them and got one female zebra and killed her. aaawwwwww
John Mooney
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } Dublin Zoo’s new African savanna enclosure, which contains a mixture of indigenous African species, lived up to its claims of authenticity when a zebra was killed by a white rhino the week before it was officially opened by president Mary McAleese.
Zanta, an eight-year-old female rhinoceros, fatally wounded Killarney while chasing two other zebra which had bitten its rear. The animals had been allowed to mix in the new enclosure, which also contains giraffe, ostrich, and scimitar-horned oryx. The rhinos have now been removed.
Paul O’Donoghue, an assistant director at the zoo, said the species had been mixing together for several days before the incident occurred on the afternoon of April 2.
“The rhino didn’t mean to kill the zebra; our staff witnessed what happened,” he said. “Zanta chased two zebra which had annoyed her by biting her rear end, and accidentally hit Killarney during the chase. The zebra ran into an indoor shelter. We assumed that she wasn’t seriously injured, but she died a short time later.”
The white rhino, usually a placid animal, is said to have raised the zebra several centimetres off the ground in the collision. The impact would have been similar to being hit by a speeding truck.
A post-mortem examination carried out on the dead zebra by a vet at University College Dublin confirmed the death was caused by the rhino’s horn.
“Rhino and zebra usually intermingle in the wild, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be kept together in zoos,” said O'Donoghue. “In fact, we acquired Zanta from a South African game park where she was kept with other species including zebra.
“We have segregated the rhinos from the other savanna species since the accident. We are going to place a fence between them for another while before allowing them to mingle again. It might be a good idea to let the rhinos get used to having other animals wandering around before we take down the fence.”
White rhinos, which can weigh 3,600kg and grow to four meters in length and 1.8 meters in height, are slightly bigger than black rhinos, but generally have a less volatile temper.
White rhinos are endangered in Africa, where about 17,000 are left, many of them living in nature reserves and game parks where they are protected from poachers by armed guards. The species are illegally hunted for their horns, which are used in traditional Far Eastern medicines and to make dagger handles in the Middle East.
Small populations of the species, the world’s largest land mammal after African elephants, survive in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland and Mozambique.
Dublin Zoo has enjoyed some success in breeding white rhinos. Last June, one cow gave birth to a female calf, the first born in Dublin in 14 years.
Dublin Zoo’s African savanna exhibit, which covers 22,000sq meters, was built on land which was part of the neighbouring estate of Aras an Uachtarain. Its construction involved the excavation and movement of 5,000 tonnes of sandstone boulders transported from Donegal, and 6,000 cubic metres of sand.
“What happened to Killarney was a tragedy but we plan to press ahead with the savanna project,” said O’Donoghue. “It was an accident. Zanta is a placid animal.”
