PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Zoo’s male lion, Zawadi Mungu, injured the tip of his tail Monday morning when it was caught beneath a closing hydraulic door during a training session.
Veterinarians are treating the lion and expect him to make a full recovery, according to a statement from zoo officials.
They said that the injury took place as Zawadi was entering a training area from the outdoor portion of his Predators of the Serengeti habitat.
"Witnessed a crappy accident today that injured a lion today at the zoo. Part of his tail is gone, blood puddling," Brandon Geer posted on his Facebook page along with his video.
“After Zawadi came into the training area, a hydraulic door leading to the outdoors came down and caught the tip of his tail,” said animal curator Michael Illig in a news release. “Animal-care staff immediately reversed the door, and were able call him back to receive care for the injury.”
“He lost the tip of his tail just above the tuft,” said zoo veterinarian Dr. Tim Storms. “For a 450-pound lion, that’s a relatively small injury, but we are treating it seriously. After a brief medical procedure he is recovering well. We expect him to heal without any complications.”
Animal-care staff reported that after sustaining the injury, Zawadi still wanted to remain in the training area and was especially interested in getting his fair share of meatballs, which is a reassuring sign.
“It doesn’t appear to be a serious injury, and we’re glad that Zawadi seems to be recovering well,” Illig said. “But you always feel badly when an animal you care for is hurt. We’ll be reviewing all the details of the situation — from the building to the mechanics to our protocols — in order to make sure this cannot happen again."
But the injury to the lion pride's leader was was hard to see, for the children watching and for those who work with the animals, according to Africa area Zookeeper Becca Van Beek.
"It’s not something that’s happened before and we were all of course very upset by this; it’s a tough situation for especially the keepers involved in their everyday care,' said Van Beek.
Van Beek added it was too bad Zawadi lost the tuft of his tale, because it is part of a male lion's masculinity, and it won't grow back. But she added, the big lion was recovering by "hanging out" with one of his two girlfriends today, which seemed to be a good sign.