Lion Attacks Lioness in Dallas Zoo; Officials Clueless About the Reason [VIDEO]

The death of a lioness in an unprovoked attack by a lion over the weekend has left the Dallas Zoo officials dumbfounded. The zoo is investigating the cause of the unprovoked brutal attack.

The Dallas Zoo officials are stunned at the loss of a lioness after it was attacked by another lion in the same cage in front of horrified visitors. . On Nov 18, the  5-year-old lioness, Johari, was bit in the neck by a male lion in her pride at 2.15 p.m. in a sudden and unprovoked attack.

The entire incident took place in front of a dozen of stunned zoo visitors. Johari died immediately after the attack.

Johari was a part of a pride of five lions sharing the Savannah exhibit area.  The two males Denari and Kamaia are brothers and Johari, Lina and Josiri were sisters. All the lions were five years old. The males were sharing the space with the rest for the past three years. The five lions were often seen engaging in rough play in the past. But that didn't fall under violent attack, reports  CBS.

After the attack, the zoo keepers quickly shifted all the four lions off the Savannah exhibit area of the park and closed it for the day.

"Johari was a remarkable animal, as are all of our lions," Lynn Kramer, D.V.M., vice president of animal operations and welfare, said in a statement. "This is a very rare and unfortunate occurrence. In my 35 years as a veterinarian in zoos, I've never seen this happen."

Based on the reports of the stunned onlookers, the male lion was seen biting Johari on the throat and the other male lion killed it. It was only after Johari went limp and could not move that they realized that it was not rough play and something was wrong.

"You just stand there and you can't believe what's happening," said witness Michael Henshaw. "Are they playing or are they killing each other?"

The investigation will analyze Johari's behavior before the gruesome attack. Jo-Jo, as the lioness was fondly called by the keepers, was playful and was often seen grooming herself. She feasted on pumpkins and watermelons and shared a sweet relationship with the other big cats.

"There was a couple of puncture wounds, and that was all we saw externally...and there was some hemorrhaging underneath the skin. Basically the animal's trachea was collapsed and she suffocated,"said Dr.Kramer, according to CBS News.

 "Johari was a remarkable animal, as are all of our lions," said Dr. Kramer. "This is a very rare and unfortunate occurrence. In my 35 years as a veterinarian in zoos, I've never seen this happen."

The visitors were fuming over the unexpected attack and death of the lioness and wanted the zoo to euthanize the male lions. But the zoo officials tweeted saying: "We won't euthanize animals for being true to their wild nature."

The two big cats will be back on display after a few weeks but at the moment they are being restricted to their night quarters. Since none of the officials actually witnessed the attack, they are depending on eyewitness accounts to investigate the case.