Lioness kills her longtime companion in their yard at the Indianapolis Zoo

A lioness allegedly killed the father of his three cubs at the Indianapolis Zoo this week. Zoo officials said Friday in a statement that they could hear an "unusual amount of roar" in the lions' outer courtyard. CNN.

When zoo officials went to see what was happening, they saw the lioness, named Zuri, in confrontation with her adult male counterpart, Nyack.

While the animals were arguing, zoo officials did their best to separate the two lions, but it was too late because "Zuri held Nyack by the neck until he stopped moving. "Says the release. CNN.

The results of the necropsy performed by zoo veterinarians on the Nyack corpse revealed that the 10-year-old lion was injured in the neck and succumbed to suffocation.

The two lions of the Indianapolis Zoo had lived in the same pen for eight years and had had three small ones together. According to zoo officials, this was the first time the two lions had engaged in aggressive physical combat.

according to CNNZoo officials also said in their statement that Nyack was a beloved lion and received many visitors.

"He was a magnificent male lion and left his legacy to his three little ones."

Officials at the zoo also said that an investigation had been opened on the incident, but they had no intention of changing the way they manage lions.

The incident occurred on Monday before the zoo was open to visitors. As a result, no one except zoo officials attended the horrific scene.

However, in 2013, hundreds of zoo visitors had the shock of their lives watching a lion kill a lioness at the Dallas Zoo, years after the two lions lived together peacefully.

According to a report from Independentthe male lion suddenly turned against the lioness, forced her powerful jaw in her throat and dragged her to the ground. A necropsy performed on the lioness revealed that she had been seriously injured in the neck and that she had died as a result of a hemorrhage.

At that time, the Vice President of the Dallas Zoo had stated in a statement that he had never witnessed an incident as regrettable before.

"It's a very rare and unfortunate event. In 35 years of veterinary practice in zoos, I have never seen this happen. Although male lions sometimes kill other males and sometimes wolf cubs in the wild, attacking a female is extremely rare. "

In another episode that took place at Knowsley Safari Park in England in 2015, a group of proud lionesses attacked a male lion because it was too old, as reported by the Mirror.

The lion had to be euthanized because he suffered too much and that there was no chance of survival.

Zoo officials said the lionesses had attacked the old lion because it was a "natural behavior of pride when the male is no longer able to maintain the grace of the females."