Indianapolis Zoo officials are reviewing what may have triggered a female lion to attack and kill her mate, a 10-year-old male who fathered her three cubs.
The female Zuri got into a fight with Nyack on Oct 19 and attacked him. Staff tried to get in between the pair but could not save the male.
Zuri and Nyack had three cubs together three years ago.
Nyack, originally from a zoo in San Diego was on loan to the Indianapolis Zoo. Just before the attack, Zuri was seen being aggressive with her mate.
One of the cubs were outside in the outdoor yard during that time.
During the attack, Zuri held Nyack down by the neck and even though zoo staff tried to stop them, the male lion stopped moving.
The Indianapolis Zoo said it plans to conduct a through investigation of the killing. It remains unclear what prompted Zuri to attack Nyack. Zoo staff said the two lions had always been compatible and hadn’t shown aggression toward each other.
