DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Edgar, a young Thomson’s gazelle from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, was mauled Thursday by several female lions that were prowling in the area.
Upon witnessing the attack on the 32-month-old, other members of the herd expressed fear and then fleeting sadness that one of the more curious gazelles had been lost.
“Our beloved son, brother and cousin, while outwardly indistinguishable from the rest of us, had a uniquely warm heart and a keen interest in the world around him,” said one of the dominant males, who may have been his father. “He eschewed the belief that lions, hyenas and vultures are only interested in eating us, and instead he looked at our similarities rather than our differences.”
The dominant male returned to eating foliage and, upon mounting a female, promptly forgot about Edgar and the attack.
“Why does everyone look so down?” he said moments later.
Edgar was a graduate of the Herd School for Advanced Studies, where he was known as a swift leaper and an accomplished scholar. His 2012 thesis earned him recognition among the academic gazelle community, many of whom said Edgar’s work was an important step toward easing tensions between gazelles and their neighbors who are unfairly seen as dangerous simply because they have long, sharp teeth.
Edgar is preceded in death by his idol, “Uncle Wilfred,” who was also brutally killed when he approached a lioness that had been staring at him for several hours, asking her if he had somehow offended or perturbed her.