Rare gazelle breaks own neck, dies at Topeka Zoo

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An endangered gazelle at the Topeka Zoo is dead after beating its head against a gate until it broke its neck.

The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/1uCWkpC ) reports a zoo visitor saw the 5-year-old Addra gazelle running from corner to corner before charging the gate three times.

Zoo staff ran to the scene but the gazelle, Raul, was already dead.

Zoo staffers described the animal’s behavior as puzzling. The city says in a news release the zoo will run a necropsy and pathology evaluation to learn what might have caused the incident.

The Addra gazelle is a critically endangered species, with only 500 left in the wild.

It’s the second rare gazelle to die at the zoo, where a 3-year-old Addra died of a sudden illness in December 2012.

___

Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up