Zoo’s bush dogs presumed drowned

Two burrowing bush dogs likely died when someone accidentally left the water running while filling their pool, an investigation by Palm Beach Zoo found.

After Lily and Carino disappeared without a trace early this week from their flooded habitat, zookeepers puzzled over what happened to the companion critters — although the bush dogs were presumed to have drowned.

“We discovered that the water line that fills the pool in their habitat was inadvertently left on,” said Jan Steele, the zoo’s director of wildlife care and conservation. “We are devastated.”

To prevent similar tragedies, zoo officials are making modifications to the pool, including the addition of an overflow drain and security features for the supply line valve, she said. Lily was 6 and Carino was 5. Carino was born at the zoo on May 26, 2012.

Lily, born at the Little Rock Zoo on April 24, 2011, was donated to the Palm Beach Zoo as a non-breeding companion to Carino.

Skittish and shy, bush dogs are very rare, except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru. They are carnivores that feed on small rodents and lizards. In adulthood, they grow no bigger than 30 inches in length and between 11 and 18 pounds in weight.

The absence of Lily and Carino brings the zoo’s bush dog population down to two — Osito and Dolly.