Indonesian police investigate deaths of African lion, wildebeest at largest zoo
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Indonesian police are investigating the latest animal deaths in Indonesia's largest and problem-plagued zoo.
Zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat said Thursday that an 18-month-old male African lion was found hanged on a steel cable inside its cage. Days earlier, on Sunday, a 5-year-old wildebeest died of a suspected stomach problem due to hot weather and humidity.
Police are investigating how the lion became entrapped by the cable, which is used by zookeepers to open the cage.
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The Surabaya Zoo in East Java's capital has been criticized over the deaths of scores of animals, including another African lion and a Sumatran tiger, in the last few years.
Built over a century ago under the Dutch colonial rule, it houses some 3,500 animals, among them five African lions and a sole female wildebeest.