Door collapses and kills young African painted dog at Zoo Miami
A young African painted dog died at Zoo Miami after a piece of equipment failed — causing a metal door to fall on the animal, killing it instantly.
The female pup, one of five born Jan. 23 at the southwest Miami-Dade attraction, died Monday morning, according to zoo spokesman Ron Magill.
At the time, the newborn dogs and their parents were being transferred within the zoo when a cable supporting a metal guillotine door became separated and the door collapsed on the animal.
Zoo officials are investigating the incident to determine what caused the equipment failure. Animals at the park are regularly transferred from enclosures or holding areas to the exhibit areas through a system of hallways, Magill said. Employees remotely allow access to the animals using pulleys and cables to lift and lower the doors.
“It is important to note that this system of guillotine doors is only used to provided access within a secure area between the animals and their exhibit habitat and that no animal would have access to any public areas as a result of such a failure,” Magill said.
The wolf-like African painted dogs are considered “highly endangered” and there are less than 6,000 remaining in the wild on the African continent.
Reasons for their endangered status have to do with loss of habitat and being shot by landowners who consider them a threat to livestock.