"Krone" has the details

Antelope Killing in Schönbrunn: No One Heard the Shot

The shooter targeted a young antelope of the shy duiker species. On Tuesday, police officers attempted to reconstruct the crime.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

An unbelievable crime at Schönbrunn Zoo. A young duiker lay dead in its enclosure: shot dead! But how could this have happened? From where did the shooter commit this cruel act? And why didn’t anyone hear the shot? “Krone” set out to investigate—and uncovered the first details.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, around 3 a.m. It is striking that the night shift at the zoo likely did not hear a shot, as the dead animal was not discovered until the next day. This suggests that the shooter likely fired from a considerable distance using a rifle with a silencer. According to reports, video footage from the enclosure also supports this sequence of events. It likely shows the antelope collapsing in the middle of its herd.

A natural “hunting blind” in the castle park?
During the “Krone” newspaper’s on-site inspection on Tuesday afternoon, several police officers were present. They attempted to reconstruct the horrific incident. The perpetrator may have fired the fatal shot from Tiroler Weg, an area that slopes steeply and is located outside the zoo grounds.

The safety of people and animals is our highest priority, and to that end, we do everything we can to ensure the highest level of safety.

Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck, Direktor des Tiergartens Schönbrunn

Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch

The zoo also believes that the perpetrator was carrying night-vision goggles. The antelope enclosure is located directly next to the rhino park at the Neptune entrance—an area of the zoo that tends to be less crowded. The Schlosspark is closed during nighttime hours. The Schlosspark’s opening hours vary by month. Currently, the gates close at 7:30 p.m. The main gate is staffed by security personnel around the clock. What makes this particularly tragic is that the rare animals had just welcomed new offspring in March.

The zoo and the criminal investigation unit, which was immediately activated, are currently investigating the circumstances of the incident. Schönbrunn Zoo has immediately increased night patrols and reinforced security with external personnel, as well as implemented further measures to prevent similar incidents.