Eight years of apparently peaceful lion cohabitation ended in horror on Monday morning when Indianapolis zookeepers witnessed lioness Zuri murder the father of her cubs Nyack in cold blood.
The Indianapolis Zoo said in a statement that, drawn by an “unusual amount of roaring,” “[z]oo personnel made every effort to separate the lions, but Zuri held Nyack by the neck until he stopped moving.” In the announcement on their Facebook page, the zoo writes:
Our Zoo family is sad to announce that 10-yr-old male African lion Nyack has died. Earlier this week he was injured during a physical incident with female lion Zuri. We will conduct a thorough review to attempt to understand what may have led to this. Zuri and the other three lions are all ok. Zuri and Nyack had three cubs together three years ago. Nyack was a magnificent lion and he will be greatly missed. We appreciate the support from our community as we cope with the loss.
“….a thorough review to attempt to understand what may have led to this.”