Musk ox crushes zookeeper to death

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

* Perilous Times

Musk ox crushes zookeeper to death*

POSTED: 1422 GMT (2222 HKT), May 15, 2007

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- A Berlin zookeeper was crushed to death Tuesday
by a several-hundred kilogram (pound) musk ox after the keeper forgot to
close a security enclosure, the zoo's director said.

The woman, whose name was not released, was feeding the musk ox when it
came through a gate that should have been shut to isolate the area from
the main pen, said Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, director of Berlin's Tierpark.

The woman had worked at the zoo for more than 20 years, he said.

"It was a tragic accident," he said.

Musk Ox are an Arctic mammal, noted for their thick coat and the strong
odor emitted by males, from which it derives its name.