A zebra has died during an “extremely rare” incident with a rhino at a zoo in Essex.
Colchester zoo said the incident between the rhino and a male zebra occurred at about 2pm on Friday in the mixed-species area. Both animals have near-threatened status, meaning they are likely to become endangered in the wild in the near future.
The zoo’s website states that its Kingdom of the Wild area “is one of the few areas where you can see a range of different animals interacting as they would do out in the wild. You will have the chance to see reticulated giraffes, maneless zebra, white rhinos, ostrich, crowned cranes and greater kudu enjoying their savannah environment”. The area is also home to the pygmy hippo, a plethora of reptiles, birds and fish.
In a statement released on Friday, the zoo said: “At approximately 2pm today there was an incident in our mixed-species African habitat between a rhino and our male zebra and sadly the zebra has died.
“At this time, we are directing our resources to make sure the rest of the animals in the habitat are settled. These sorts of incidents are extremely rare and we will continue to monitor the situation over the next few days.
“We are devastated by this loss and thank you for your understanding and support at this time.”
One witness writing on Facebook said they saw “the rhinos and zebras chasing as we headed inside”.
They added that they were asked to head for the exit “not having a clue what had happened”.
“Staff were amazing and acted very professionally under such awful circumstances,” they added.
Colchester zoo, which opened in 1963, keeps the near-threatened southern white rhinos, with seven calves born since the species arrived in 1972.
