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SALT LAKE CITY — The Hogle Zoo lost a member of its family and a headliner in its long-running bird show Sunday after a falcon flew into a wolf enclosure.
The 17-year-old bird did not survive the wrong turn taken during a Sunday morning falcon show. Show spectators may have noticed the bird went missing, but did not see the carnage, said zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen.
Anyone visiting the zoo's two wolves at the time, however, may have seen "something quite unexpected," Hansen said.
"When the falcon landed there, the wolves pounced," Hansen said. "We did have keepers and trainers on hand, but there's not a lot you can do at that point."
Trainers rushed to try and save the bird and take its tracking device before the predators could eat it.
It's unclear why the bird took the fatal turn. It had flown off once before, forcing a handler to hike into the mountains overnight to retrieve the falcon.
The employees behind the show of two decades are devastated, and believe the bird is priceless. Countless hours have gone into training the animal that performed for families for 10 years, Hansen said.
Hogle staff are planning a memorial service in mountains at the spot where the bird flew off to the first time.
A Lanner falcon, it is native to parts of Africa, southeast Europe and western Asia.
"It's such a loss," Hansen said.
