The zebra that died in a zoo in Essex after an “incident” with a rhinoceros was killed after the larger animal unintentionally punctured its stomach.
Colchester Zoo had revealed over the weekend that a male zebra had died due to an “extremely rare” incident with a rhino, but it did not say how the animal’s death came about.
In an update, the zoo said a female rhino named Astrid had been sparring with her son Tayo in a mixed-species enclosure on Friday.
The rhino had “unfortunately” attempted to move the male zebra named Ziggy out of the way but in doing so “unintentionally punctured his stomach”, the zoo added.
The zebra died of his injuries a few minutes later.
Ziggy had been living “happily” with the other species in the enclosure, including the rhino, since November 2017, the zoo said.
It added in a statement: “In the light of these rare events, we review our care for the animals to minimise the risk of these incidents reoccurring.
“As a result, the animal care team will continue to closely monitor the animals’ behaviour in the coming weeks.
“These sorts of incidents are extremely rare and we are devastated by this loss, Ziggy was a much-loved animal who will be dearly missed.
“We would really like to thank our supporters for the well wishes at this difficult time and thank our fantastic animal care team who dealt with this very difficult situation extremely professionally.”
The zoo initially announced the zebra’s death on social media over the weekend, with some users claiming they witnessed what happened.
“I was there and I feel so bad for everyone,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“It was heart-breaking. The keepers did a great job handling it.”
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Another said: “We knew it had to be something serious, however every member of staff handled it so well, especially now looking back knowing the circumstances.”
The two animals were kept in the zoo’s “Kingdom of the Wild” enclosure, which is also home to animals and birds, including an African crowned crane, an ostrich, a greater kudu and a reticulated giraffe.
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The habitat was completed in 2001 and is comprised of an indoor building and outdoor paddock, according to the zoo’s website.
Its rhinos are the near-threatened southern white species and since the first ones arrived in 1972, seven calves have been born at the popular tourist attraction.
