Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee is mourning the loss of one of their own, a 7-year-old 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 they Zoo does bag searches, guests found a way to sneak this banned item in, costing the antelope its life.

Brights Zoo also said in their Facebook posts that “guests are able to go to their car or the picnic areas in our parking lot as many times as they wish and re-enter the zoo.” The zoo spoke more about it in this video shared by WJHL. Fans of Brights Zoo were saddened by the news of the animal’s death, and by the irresponsibility of the guest who brought the banned item in.

@Connie Bright shared, “It’s heartbreaking. I used to hate bag searches, but I don’t anymore. The three keepers who tried in vain to save this animal felt helpless and devastated as the animal they loved and have hand fed for years lay dying. Many hearts are sad and broken today. Your child CAN go for an hour without needing these. Or you can return to the car or pavilion and come right back in.” @Joe Jones added, “It is very frustrating that people just do what the hell they want and will not follow rules. Hopefully they see these posts and feel like crap when they realize it was them that caused this animal to die in such a horrible way…”

Related: Zoo In Tennessee Welcomes Rare Spotless Giraffe

More About Lief the Rare Antelope

Lief was a sitatunga, a rare antelope native to Central Africa. The New York Times (NYT) reported, “A typical life span for the antelope, which has a shaggy, oily coat and lives in swamplands, is around 22 years in captivity, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington.”

David Bright, director of the zoo, spoke with NYT via a phone interview on Wednesday and explained, “a zookeeper noticed on Saturday that Lief was behaving oddly. A veterinarian determined that he had an object blocking his airway, a plastic cap that was removed after sedation. But his airway had been obstructed for too long, and he died shortly after the procedure.”

Like many others, I was outraged by such a senseless death. The level of entitlement people have thinking that rules don’t apply to them is tragic, and results in tragedies like this one. This death should never have happened.

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