Star-crossed lions?

It is just too much of a coincidence. On the same day that we visited the Ningbo Zoo a deer jumped into the lion enclosure at our old stomping grounds at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Thanks, Sus, for the tip on that story!

My first thought was that maybe what we experienced in Ningbo wasn't so unusual (have I been here too long already?). I mean, live animals do get into zoo enclosures, whether thrown in by a spectator or accidentally. A friend of ours saw a Canadian goose caught and eaten by a lion in the Denver zoo a few years ago. But I was surprised when I read the story in the Washington Post that the zoo visitors who were present during the whole event were cheering for the deer to escape and some rushed their children away so they wouldn't accidentally see real lions eating a real live animal.

After the deer was caught and escaped from the lioness three times, the zoo guards sent the visitors away and moved the lions indoors. The deer was declared fatally injured after it was seen by zoo specialists. Why not just let the lions eat it?

I am pretty sure I can imagine how differently this scenario would have played out in the Ningbo zoo!