Community Corner
Zebra Bites Zoo Keeper; 'Spooked' Gazelle Dies
Zoo officials investigate employee's presence in zebra pen; suspect Gazelle died after running scared into exhibit barrier.
Gumu, a 10-year-old Grevy's zebra, created chaos Monday morning when he bit a zoo keeper, scaring a nearby Gazelle to death.
The Gazelle, one-year-old Tony, died from a broken vertebrae shortly after the biting incident. The fracture likely happened when Tony, "spooked by the incident" in the nearby zebra pen, ran into his exhibit barrier, the zoo said in a statement.
Gumu, the zebra, bit the Smithsonian National Zoo employee several times around 8:45 a.m., the statement said. The zebra was not harmed, but the keeper was sent to the hospital for bleeding.
The zoo moved the zebra to the Cheetah Conservation Station away from the public, and is investigating the reason the zoo keeper was in the zebra enclosure, the statement said.
"...there is always a barrier between staff and dangerous animals, like the Grevy’s zebra," the statement said.
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