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Rare Antelope Dies at Tennessee Zoo After Choking on a Banned Item

Incident Date:
06/14/2024
Location:
Limestone, TN - USA
Facility Name:
Brights Zoo
Facility Type:
Non-accredited Facility (RSZ)
Incident Category:
Animal Death (AD)
Species:
Other
Animal:
African Antelope
Animal disposition:
Dead

Summary:

Limestone, TN – Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee is mourning the death of a 7-year-old sitatunga (a rare African antelope) named Lief. A guest at the zoo snuck in a banned item, a squeezable fruit pouch with a plastic cap. Somehow the cap ended up in the antelope’s enclosure, and the curious animal choked on it after trying to eat it.

Brights Zoo posted to Facebook on Saturday, June 9th with a short explanation of why these fruit pouches are banned, “The reason is simple – the packaging is dangerous to our animals. Today we lost a beloved animal due to choking.” The Zoo went on to explain that to animals, the red caps look like food, and while the Zoo does bag searches, guests found a way to sneak this banned item in.

Action take by Born Free USA:

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