When Rogue Zebras Attack

There have been some strange goings-on at the Virginia Zoo of late.

In July 2002 Kalisa, a female lion, attacked and killed another lion in a fight over a duck. Last October, Zeke, a zebra, chased a white rhino into a moat, where it drowned. What we didn't know at the time was that Kalisa and Zeke were apparently working their way through a bracket in a "Tough Beast" competition. Because now they have fought each other. To a draw.

The encounter happened just before closing Monday after Zeke somehow managed to escape from his exhibit and wound up in the lion area. By the time zoo staff arrived, the animals had retreated to opposite corners of the enclosure.
Zeke had several claw marks.
Kalisa, a 6-year-old African lioness, was wet and muddy.

And it wasn't just a chance encounter, either. Good old Zeke had to really work at it.

The zebra area is separated from the lion area by a 6- to 8-foot -high vertical drop and a moat, measuring about 8 feet wide and 10 feet deep. On the zebra’s end, there’s a rocky ledge along the drop-off.
Zoo director Lewis Greene said zebras and other hoofed animals are deterred by rocky terrain. Zeke braved the rocks, then either fell or jumped from the ledge into the moat, he said.

Whoa. That's one athletic zebra. Unfortunately, no one saw the actual bout, so the staff has been forced to speculate:

Zeke ended up in the moat. Greene surmises that Kalisa charged into the moat and went after Zeke and the two tussled either in the water or after they emerged onto dry land.
[...]

“I think Zeke either kicked or bit Kalisa because she was keeping her distance,” Greene said. “It was like she was saying she had enough and this guy wasn’t as easy pickings as she thought.”

Now this sounds like a fun zoo. Coming next week: Zeke wrestles the python into a helicopter spin and is last seen flying out over the Atlantic Ocean.