Lioness chokes the father of her cubs to death
Zuri, a lioness at Indiana Zoo, reportedly choked a lion named Nyack to death.
Staff at the Indiana Zoo are familiar with the sounds of animals waking up in the morning. That's why, when the roaring coming from the lion enclosure sounded like it was mixed with cries of distress, staff were immediately alerted that something was wrong.
When they approached the area to investigate they found Zuri the lioness with the head of Nyack, the lion who fathered her three cubs, in a deadly grip.
The 12-year-old female lion, whose three-year-old cub was standing not too far away at the time of the incident, reportedly "continued to hold her partner until he had stopped moving".
Nyack died from suffocation and injuries to his neck.
Zoo staff are unsure about what provoked the attack, but animal experts say it is not uncommon for lionesses to attack lions in the wild. In those cases, the intention is to protect vulnerable cubs by scaring the strange lion away, but not necessarily to kill it.
The Indiana Zoo described Zuri as a powerful lioness who had the upper hand in the relationship, something which lion expert Craig Packer said was highly unusual: "She apparently dominated him for the whole time they were together."
The Zoo says it is greatly saddened by the loss and will investigate to find out what caused Zuri to attack.
Image: CBS Denver