JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem is clarifying its feeding protocols after families watched a lion devouring a bunny.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Video of the incident, which was shared on Twitter by Israeli TV journalist Yossi Eli, shows the lion eating a white rabbit. The voices of onlooking parents and children wondering aloud about the meal can be heard in the background.
The Biblical Zoo features animals alive during the time of the Bible, as well as other species.
“The Biblical Zoo turned into National Geographic in the middle of the day,” tweeted Eli, Jerusalem correspondent for Israeli Channel 13. “The kids at the zoo were astonished to see how a lion devoured rabbits in the middle of the day. … Parents were shocked.”
גן החיות התנ"כי התחפש לנשיונל ג'יאוגרפיק באמצע היום. הילדים שהגיעו היום לגן החיות נדהמו לצפות איך אריה טורף ארנבות באמצע היום….. ההורים הזדעזעו pic.twitter.com/6K5D0L3W3Q
— Yossi Eli יוסי אלי (@Yossi_eli) March 21, 2021
The zoo released a statement explaining that the lions are usually fed dead animals behind closed doors but that, in this case, the lion dragged its food out into public view.
“The Asian lions in the zoo, which are a species in danger of extinction, are part of a worldwide lion conservation program,” the zoo’s statement said, according to Eli. “The lions in the zoo are fed prey that is no longer alive, which the zoo receives from an animal food provider. Due to sensitivity, the lions receive their foo behind the scenes. In this case, the lion dragged its prey into the exhibition area.”
Several Israeli Twitter users pointed out that it isn’t exactly a shock that lions eat meat. Some connected the incident to a classic Hebrew children’s book, “The Lion Who Loved Strawberries,” by Tirza Atar, which is about a lion who thinks he likes strawberries but (spoiler alert) has never actually tasted them and in fact finds them disgusting once he does.
“It would have been a great crossover if the bunny were named ‘Strawberry,’” one user wrote.
People are too disconnected from reality. Just teach them that rabbits are lion food, the same way chickens are people food.
Has the lion been canceled?
Waiting for the Lion to issue an apology.
How dare he/she eat lunch (sic)
these same isreali kids see clips of niftarim wrapped in a talis … sniper shootings… fires etc… and a rabbit for lunch is too traumatic? unfortunately they are numb its not trauma rather a LACK OF FEELINGS by by being fed way too much news that a young or old mind cannot process
All cats are carnivores. HaShem made them that way. Big cats and small cats alike.
And my street cats catch birds.
That’s their nature.
Damage control? Whichever parent is raising a stink has to be reminded that this event than their own child eating chicken except for the brachot and the mitzvot involved and no different at all if they are not religious. Get a grip.