Bizarre, Environment, Society

The Lion’s Den: National Zoo the Scene of an All-Too-Real Predator-Prey Exhibit

Families got a bit too real of a zoological lesson at the National Zoo this week when a deer somehow jumped into the wrong exhibit: the lion enclosure. Nature took it from there.

The deer was from the nearby park. For those who do not live in Washington, we have a great population of deer and it is not uncommon to see them walking along the roads and highways.

The crowd was cheering on the deer but the two female lions took the opposing view.

For the story, click here

11 thoughts on “The Lion’s Den: National Zoo the Scene of an All-Too-Real Predator-Prey Exhibit”

  1. A similar situation occured at Disney’s Animal Kingdom while I was there. A Florida Hare jumped into the Komodo Dragon enclosure and the dragon did what dragons do. The dragon eviscerated the rabbit in full view of the crowd and then devored it. Rabbits can really scream it turns out. Children were crying, women screaming, and the employees were lecturing on the circle of life.

  2. It’s good to see that the lions still had their natural instincst despite having to pace a round moat and deal with noisy kids from the ‘burbs.

  5. “They found it “pretty evident” that the deer “would not survive,” and it was euthanized, Baker-Masson said.”

    how come they did not let the lions “euthanize” that deer. it would have been some good chow for them.

    They looked young and inexperienced.

  6. “Zoo personnel sent visitors away and got the lions indoors. With the enclosure empty, the deer left the moat on its own. It was anesthetized and taken for evaluation by specialists.

    They found it “pretty evident” that the deer “would not survive,” and it was euthanized, Baker-Masson said.”
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    I was rooting for the queens against Deer Daniel in the lion’s den.

  7. Gyges:

    interesting. But did they learn that from watching us or did we learn that from watching them?

  9. Rich:

    I need a couple of those in my yard, dam deer. the Cougar, Ford Mercury Cougar is their only natural predator in my neck of the woods.

  11. The zoo is in Rock Creek Park and deer constantly get into nearby residential areas. Absent natural predators or effective birth control, this is probably the best way to curb their population. The deer fans were probably tourists or suburbanites. I suspect that people who live nearby would have cheered on the lions.

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