A six-year-old a male sitatunga has been killed by a pygmy hippo at their new shared enclosure on the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Chopper the sitatunga – a swamp-dwelling antelope – was meant to be part of the zoo’s new multi-species habitat that options pygmy hippos.
Zoo staffers say the 2 animals efficiently accomplished visible introductions between Chopper and the pygmy hippo, named Jahari, final month.
However, when skilled animal care employees tried a managed introduction on Tuesday, Jahari all of a sudden attacked Chopper. The animal’s sudden loss of life comes simply 4 days after Chopper was formally launched to followers and animal lovers on the zoo’s Instagram web page.
‘This unhappy incident reminds us that regardless of monumental cautionary measures taken by zoo employees during the last a number of weeks, the conduct of untamed animals may be unpredictable,’ mentioned the zoo’s CEO, Peter D’Arienzo.
Previous to the violent episode, Zoo curator Tim Sampson mentioned the zoo employees had been excited to introduce the 2 animals to one another in the identical enclosure for the primary time.
Staffers separated the 2 animals instantly and tried to resuscitate Chopper, however had been unsuccessful.
‘At John Ball Zoo, offering world-class take care of our animals is our primary precedence, and we’re deeply saddened by the lack of Chopper, who was cherished by all of the employees that cared for him and who’re at this time grieving this loss,’ continued the message from the CEO.
The zoo says it would full a full overview of the incident as a part of its animal care protocols and procedures.
The unhappy improvement comes simply weeks earlier than ‘Hippopalooza,’ which is scheduled to run Friday, June 2 – Sunday, June 4.
The occasion is meant to have a good time the opening of the zoo’s model new, state-of-the-art pygmy hippo exhibit with dwell music and animal actions.
The mixed-animal habitat was supposed to deal with two pygmy hippos, two European white storks, and Chopper the sitatunga.
Jahari had just lately come to the John Ball Zoo from the Pittsburgh zoo, whereas Chopper had arrived earlier this yr from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The six-year-old sitatunga was born on June 25, 2016 on the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
Pygmy hippos – a dwarf species of standard hippos – are native to West Africa, and like their bigger cousins, may be extraordinarily confrontational, particularly after they really feel their area is being threatened.
This text by Sophie Mann was first printed by The Each day Mail on 17 Might 2023. Lead Picture: Jahari, the newly arrived pygmy hippo, fatally attacked a sitatunga on the John Ball Zoo in Michigan on Tuesday.
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