Updated Forecast: In Excess of 8" of Snow, Plus Wind
And Now, 10-20 Inches
Federal Govt. Closed Tuesday
Snowmaggedon 1.0 in Time Lapse
Many of you have likely already seen this YouTube video shot by Ephraim and Christy Smethers (and fair warning, it's graphic in the same way that many nature shows are) of a deer being attacked by a lion at the National Zoo yesterday. The deer, which had presumably wandered in to the Zoo from neighboring Rock Creek Park, managed to run inside the lion habitat, and the lions, being lions, went after the young animal like it was a tasty snack.
The chase went on for as much as 20 minutes, according to witnesses who spoke to the Post, right in front of Zoo visitors on a busy, beautiful Sunday afternoon. Eventually Zoo officials got the lions inside and removed the injured deer from the enclosure. A subsequent examination found that the animal would not survive its injuries, so it was euthanized, according to the Post.
Zoo officials are describing the incident as "highly unusual." I'll say. Were any readers actually at the Zoo yesterday?
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
*raggedy* white guilt liberal yup-yups "jump into the water"
How about jump into the lion's neck so you won't jump in front of my bucket?
With the skyrocketing deer population and a reluctance on the part of the Park Service to allow bowhunting in Rock Creek, you can look forward to more instances of "suicide by lion."
With the ever-growing deer population in D.C. and the reluctance to embrace GUNS!!!!!!, I think that this opportunity can't be passed up. Walking Simba (on like a 400 yard leash) in Rock Creek park is a win-win for all save Bambi.
Drivers of past car vs. deer collisions are feeling like they're getting one back.
Oh, and... I thought Vick was over this kinda stuff.
The problem with letting them hunt live prey is that sometimes the prey gets their own in and injures the lions. The zoo is more interested in keeping them healthy and injury-free (recent deaths notwithstanding) than letting them play.
A "tasty snack" indeed.
HAHAH! That's awesome! The lion was just doing what comes natural to her. I like how she keeps looking over at the crowd yelling at her.
I've taken the liberty of translating the incident into lolcat:
Lion: I can has venison burger?
Stupid deer: YOURS!
Lion: Nom nom nom.
Zoo keeper: Not yours!
Lion: NOOOOOOO! They be taking mah venison burger!
comment o' the day, right there.
What the hell, why did they stop the lion? Isn't the point of zoos to preserve wild animals? It's a LION. Its entire purpose in life is to chase down fast things, smack them around, and then eat them.
Srsly. I guess watching a lion eat a deer might be a little disconcerting, but whatevs. It's the natural order of things; more so than vehicular deer suicide on Mass. Ave.
Once I saw a baby large cat of some kind (cheetah?) eat a bird that landed near it at the zoo...it was the perfect opportunity to explain the "circle of life" to my little sisters who were with me at the time. No Disney required!
So disappointed I missed this by about 30 mins. You can tell the lion has never been or it has been a long, long since its been in the wild, he definitely thought it was more of a toy than lunch, it took the lion 20 mins only to let it jump in the moat. Yeah, it's lost all its instincts.
Totally bummed that I didn't witness this.
What do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs? ...... Still no eye deer. HA HA HA!!!
Bambi in a coma, I know it's really serious.
There were times when I could have eaten her.
But I'd hate anything to happen to her.
No I don't want to see her.
Starting to worry about this recent outpouring of pre-goth-sad-rock from you, Monkey. May I suggest some prog-rock? Perhaps a little Yes? Alan Parsons Project? Maybe even a little Floyd to boost your spirits?
One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces.
Indeed he is, Mr. Torrance. A very willful boy. A rather naughty boy, if I may be so bold, sir.
Careful with that axe, Monkey.
Set the controls for the heart of MY PANTS.
Man- I had planned on going to the zoo on Sunday. I'm kinda sad we didn't go now.
I WAS at the zoo yesterday. Noticed nothing unusual between 12-4pm. Just glad it wasn't the baby gazelle -- SO CUTE!!
Now that you mention it, the lion exhibit was closed, but a number of exhibits are closed this time of year. That probably explains it.
The gazelle was the amuse bouche.
if they had to euthanize it, why didn't they just throw it back in the cage?
Thinking of grabbing a 12 pack and my neighbor's poodle if anyone wants to head over to the zoo after work?
It's the circle of life .... and it moves us all...
Seriously... A lion is a predator and deer is prey. Why are people cheering when the deer gets away? Shouldn't you be rooting for the lion? I mean seriously, to have lived most of its life in captivity and still have natural instincts like that is pretty awesome. Peronally I think they should allow the lions to hunt more. It'd help keep the deer population in check.
I for one support a new policy involving handing over live deer to the lions while we dress in viking garb, bang kettle drums and do that monk chant voice.
Belligerent ghouls run Manchester zoos.
Spineless swine, cemented minds.
Lion leads the troops jealous of youth, same old jokes since 1902.
He does the military two-step down the nape of my neck.
I wanna go home, I don't want to stay.
Give up life as a bad mistake
Please excuse me from the gym, I've got this terrible cold coming on.
He grabs and devours, kicks me in the showers, and he grabs and devours
I wanna go home, I don't want to stay.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this lion was born in captivity and never hunted for its own food. It looks like a domesticated house cat that plays with a mouse that it catches, but doesn't know how to go in for the killing strike. Any real wild lion wouldn't let such a tasty morsel get away like that.
Oh geez. This is Darwinism at its best. Deer today have become total dolts since we killed off the wolves.
BAMBI-JUMPING INTO A LION DEN IS NOT A GOOD THING.
I am also surprised they stopped it. The lion was just being a lion. I think it would have been fascinating to see.
But aren't there wolves in Rock Creek Park now? Or coyotes or something? I envision a wildlife maitenence program that involves the wolves eating the deer, you shooting the wolves and eating them, and then listening to some old-school KISS. Kind of Joseph Cambell meets Judge Dredd or something - there's got to be a government grant for this.
A friend of mine just reminded me these might be the same lions that ate a crazy lady at the zoo 1995.
I think this lion issue might be a larger menace than jumbo slice pizza, someone really should look into banning these things!
I, for one, was shocked and appalled to discover that lions do not get their food from Krogers.
Don't be fooled by a zoo lion - or any other large animal in captivity. Even though they've never lived the wild, they still have the weapons to rip you to shreds. Remember the tiger in San Francisco that killed a kid? Thank goodness the National Zoo had their act together and were able to keep the lions and the visitors safe during this episode.
+1 for NZP.
I know there's a "cougar commenting on the female lions" joke in here somewhere, but it's Monday and I just can't put it together...anyway, get back in your den Liz!
meow
Based on the comments here and on the WaPo website, the zoo could have a real moneymaker on its hands by selling tickets to live feedings. Add a vomitorium and Nero playing violin and we could even make it a theme park!
welcome to the final fall of the american empire
I thought that was "Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami."
Yeah, I saw that one...looking forward to the sequel: Khloe Khlows Khleveryone.
Come on, don’t forget that the deer might have diseases that might harm the lion. But they should test the meat, and let the lion have its prize.
Ugh. I can't think of a more disgusting and morally repugnant diet. Do you realize that the average lion has 36 pounds of undigested meat in its colon? And is it any suprise that someone with such a protein-centric diet is violent? It sickens me that my tax dollars are going to subsidize such an unhealthy lifestyle that threatens to deplete the ozone. At the very least, the zoo should offer some sort of vegetarian option, or teach the lions to junkpunch their prey behind a partition so people won't be forced to watch them sink their fangs into that sweet, tender, delicious venison.
Lions should stick to shrimp salad sandwiches. And bananas.
Listen, before he started fixing, he used to get through four Jehovah's witnesses a day. And he used to eat all of them, except the pamphlets.
Silly lions, don't they know that The Watchtower is an excellent source of fiber?
I'd like to see the lions take on those Rock Creek Park bees.
Or what? You’ll release the dogs, or the bees, or the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you? Well, go ahead—do your worst!
The deer saw an open niche, and leapt to it!
http://dcist.com/2009/11/national_zoo_loses_two_rare_oryx.php
http://dcist.com/2008/03/national_zoo_se.php
Of course, the "Part 2" in the YouTube title led me to ask myself, "hmm, what of Part 1?". It's not overly interesting aside from the beauty comment you overhear at about the :12 mark. You'll know it when you hear it. I'm going to get me a longneck and carry it by inserting my finger in the openin'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CavVwhX7Fs
I want to see the lion take on a gorilla with a 2x4. The winner would take on Nick Cho in a cockpunch royale. That would be awesome!
What looks like "play" from cats (big or small) is all part of the killing process. House cats often never get to the killing strike with mice because they're simply not hungry...so they'll leave incapacitated but sometimes still alive prey as offerings for their owners.
These lions are well fed, so I imagine they don't have motivation to go in for a quick kill. I'm no zoologist, but my guess is that, left to their own devices, those lions would continue tiring out that deer and completely incapacitate it until they actually got hungry.
A lifetime in captivity still doesn't trump eons of evolution.
I heard the mountain lion posted a Craigslist ad. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/mis/1458257004.html
Mama CHUD Chinatown Sue managed to get a few deer steaks in which she sold to Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain.
Ooh! Let's revisit the love-story of the masochistic Dutch woman and Bokito, the 400 lb Gorilla:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18767315/
Yes! Coming to this cinema soon! The tender compassionate story of one man's love for another man in drag. THRILL! to the excitement of a night emission over Germany. When the pilot, Jennifer, has to choose between his secret love for Louis, the hot-bloodedly bi-sexual navigator and Andy, the rear gunner, who, though quite assertive with girls, tends to take the submissive role in his relationships with men. And sensational Mexican starlet, Rosetta Nixon, plays the head of bomber command, whose passion for sea-birds ends in tragedy. With Ginger, as the half-man, half-woman, parrot whose unnatural instincts brought forbidden love in the aviary. And Roger as Pip, the half-parrot, half-man, half-woman, three-quarter badger, ex-bigamist negro preacher, for whom banjo-playing was very difficult, and he never mastered it although he took several courses and went to banjo college... er... and everything... don't miss it! Coming to your cinema soon! Only five minutes from this restaurant!
What if it had been Molly?
We would have blamed the owners, natch!
Here's what I've learned from all of this: if I'm about the serengeti and a big cat chases me...water. Do they have big cats on the serengeti? Do they have water? I'll rethink this.
The water all has crocodiles.
Also, the crocodiles are haunted.
socialized zoo-keeping has no place in america!!!
Had the cat been hungry - which zoo cats rarely are - he'd have played less and dined.
Excuse me ... that's SHE would have played less and dined.
hey peoples just to answer some questions since i docent at the zoo:
#1 those are not the same lions, that would be the pair of lion brothers who have passed away since the whole person-jumping-in-the-moat excitement
and
#2 they have to take the deer away from the lions for a variety of reasons. lions might get a hoof in the face, or worse, catch some disease from the wild deer. also, a dead halfeaten deer is a MESS to clean up out of an exhibit (ask the cheetah keepers). this is not the first deer to jump into an exhibit. yes circle of life & all that, but wild animals carry diseases so we try to keep the zoo residents from eating them whenever possible.
can't wait till elephant trails opens. deer have decided that new grass in the elephant area is all thiers. that should be a fun surprise for bambi & friends when they go to graze only to find that "deer trails" has been repossesed by intended inhabitants!
The deer should be grateful that Pachyderms are herbivores!
Best day of that Lion's miserable life.
I can't believe so many people are so cruel to enjoy seeing a baby deer get attacked by a lion. For all of you who want to see deer get killed - the deer were here first, it's not their fault we took over their habitat. If the population has to be controlled, it should be done in a much more humane way than scaring them to death. And it especially shouldn't be done to baby deer. I once rescued a newborn fawn, and you would not believe how human the fawn sounded - when it was hungry, the cry it made sounded just like a human baby. I expected more people to be on the side of the deer rather than so bloodthirsty - have we regressed to where people used to bring their children and lunch to watch public executions? How could anyone enjoy seeing something like that, regardless of whether it's part of the life cycle.