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« We are really sorry that our visitors witnessed a really unsettling sight, » says the attraction.
A Scottish safari park apologized to two families who saw the moment when lions hunted and killed a monkey that was accidentally left in their enclosure.
Blair Drummond Safari Park in Stirling said in a statement on its website: « We are really sorry that our visitors saw what must have been a truly unsettling sight.
« This tragic event is deeply felt by the teams involved, who look after our animals around the clock.
Visitors were given « a full account of what happened » while the staff directly involved were given support.
Shaw, a nine-year-old Barbary macaque, was killed jumping into the lion enclosure after he was killed on Jan.. December had escaped his own pen.
The lion guardian of the park « did everything possible to protect the macaque. . . but was unable to protect her from the lions « who » reacted as if in the wild by chasing the animal and sadly killing it, « it added.
Witnesses reportedly heard the creature scream in agony while a video was released showing a lioness running through her enclosure with the macaque in her mouth and being followed by three other lions.
The statement says: « We take this extremely seriously. The safety of our visitors and the safety and care of our animals are our top priority.
« The lion enclosure incident has never happened in the history of Blair Drummond Safari Park, and we share the shock and concern that it did. «
An internal investigation found that the monkeys, an endangered species, escaped through the gates into their habitat, which had been opened to let in a visitor’s car.
The employee who manually operated the gates was not to blame, and new operating procedures have been put in place to prevent repetition, the statement said.
The park said it reported the incident to BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos). .
Barbary macaques are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which warned in 2018 that their future « is uncertain due to the reduction and fragmentation of their natural habitat ». .
Once distributed in the Mediterranean, the species has a population between eight and 10. 000 in the forests of Morocco, Algeria and the Rock of Gibraltar, the IUCN said.
© 2020 Sky UK
Lion, Monkey, Blair Drummond Safari Park, Barbary Apes, United Kingdom
World News – AU – Safari Park apologizes to families who have seen lions hunt and monkeys accidentally killed in the enclosure were left
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Ref: https://news.sky.com
