Dallas Zoo Zebra Dies After Accident Likely Involving Other Animal: She Will Be 'Deeply Missed'
Zoo veterinarians decided to "humanely euthanize" the zebra as "her injuries were too severe for her to be able to make a full recovery"
A Texas zoo is mourning the loss of one of its zebras, who died this week following an accident likely involving another animal.
Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, was found unresponsive in her habitat at the Dallas Zoo with a head injury on Monday, the zoo wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
Upon finding Keeya, zoologists and veterinarians at the park moved the zebra out of the habitat to assess her situation and administer treatment.
The zoo noted that while no staff members witnessed the event, Keeya was likely injured by another animal in the Giants of the Savanna habitat.
"After several hours of treatment and observation, it was apparent that her injuries were too severe for her to be able to make a full recovery, so our veterinarians made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize her," the zoo wrote.
During Keeya's necropsy, vets discovered that the zebra fractured her spine shortly before her death. This is "an injury that caused paralysis in her lower limbs and from which it would be impossible for her to recover," the zoo explained.
Keeya was described as a "protective and attentive mother" to Malawa, the first Hartmann's mountain zebra born at the Dallas Zoo in January 2020.
The zebra was also known to have a silly side; zoo guests frequently spotted her "rolling around playfully in her habitat or chasing after boisterous Malawa."
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"Keeya will be deeply missed," the zoo wrote. "Please send your thoughts and condolences to Keeya's care team and our entire Zoo family as we grieve this sudden, tragic loss."