Deer dies after leaping into D.C. lion pen (there is a lesson in this somewhere)

[The Straight Story]

Deer dies after leaping into D.C. lion pen


WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A deer that leaped into a lion enclosure at Washington's National Zoo escaped the lions but was euthanized due to severe injuries, officials said.

With spectators looking on, the deer jumped into the enclosure at about 2:50 p.m. EST Sunday. The deer eluded the pursuit of the two female lionesses in the enclosure and managed to escape them, landing in a moat, The Washington Post reported.

However, zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said zoo employees determined the deer should be put down because "it was pretty evident that the deer would not survive."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/11/08/Deer-dies-after-leaping-into-DC-lion-pen/UPI-76821257730618/

[47of74]

1. Must've been related to the deer that ran head first into my car

I only had that car three months and a deer ran headfirst into the side of it. A new car with a big ass dent in the side. I was soooo thrilled!

[vadawg]

2. that is why you need to drive a big ole truck with big ole brush bars etc

then if it gets hit, it becomes like a badge of honour :)

[mindwalker_i]

3. Oh deer...

[chatnoir]

4. Poor thing :(

But what shoddy reporting. Was it some random wild deer or an escaped zoo animal or what?

[MrScorpio]

5. The Zoo is right off Rock Creek Park

So it must have been a wild deer

[Occulus]

6. Probably wild.

I live in MI, and deer are so numerous here they can actually be problematic, even dangerous (I've hit one at 65mph and dodged more than I can count). I would say "introduce wolves", but there are some pretty well-traveled highways spanning the state and any wolves brought here would quickly become roadkill. You know, like all the deer that get hit. :(

Another problem is that, although when it is properly prepared deer meat is actually very tasty, there are more deer here than people want to consume. There isn't a natural predator present other than man to control the population. I don't know of a humane solution to this problem. This is the natural range for the whitetail deer, but the population is larger than is sustainable even with a predator present (us). We can't introduce wolves to help us deal with the problem because their population is too valuable to risk as roadkill.

Sterilization, maybe? In any case, I can easily see this happening in a zoo here in MI.

[woo me with science]

7. That poor deer,

but I'll bet it was a rare, exciting day for the lions!

[annabanana]

8. Probably the most fun those lions have had in YEARS. . . n/t