A great horned owl was eaten by a tiger after escaping from a zookeeper at a Minnesota zoo, CBS reported Wednesday.
According to a USDA report, the incident happened in April when the owl flew away from its keeper during training. The keeper was preparing the owl for a bird show, but the owl never returned and fell into the zoo's outdoor tiger enclosure. The tiger then ate the owl, and the exit was then sealed off. Reported.
“The bird flew into the Zoo's tiger habitat, and a tiger in that habitat preyed on the owl before staff could intervene,” said Zach Nugent, communications and media relations manager at the Minnesota Zoo. said NBC News.
Nugent told NBC the owl is in the early stages of training for the bird show and is still “getting used to its new environment.” (Related: Polar bear dies in freak accident with fellow bear at zoo).
Minnesota Zoo owl eaten by tiger after escaping from zookeeper: https://t.co/Cvx4kFEMfX #KAKENews
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“Animal welfare is our number one priority in all aspects of the zoo's operations. This is a tragic incident and the zoo has been working closely with our free-flying bird training partners to review our policies and procedures,” Nugent told the outlet.
According to a CBS report, the incident report instructed the Minnesota Zoo to create and maintain flight training procedures to prevent animals from coming into harm's way due to physical trauma.
Eurasian eagle owls watch a meeting of the Kuwait Owl Team, a local group working to protect and propagate owls, in Kuwait City on March 6, 2021. (Photo: YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo: YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images)
The USDA report recommended the facility develop an emergency plan to evacuate the animals indoors, according to the outlet. It also found that the camel enclosures were in need of repairs and that the feed station's trash area was infested with pests.
The camel enclosure has reportedly since been repaired.
In 2021, Gladys, a Eurasian eagle owl, died after falling from a tree and flying away during a training exercise at the Minnesota Zoo. According to A few days later, the bird was found injured on the side of the road, and veterinary staff were unable to save Gladys, the outlet reported.
