The incident happened Friday at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in the province of British Columbia. The four-year-old eagle had strayed from its course and was perched on a log about 10 feet up in the lions' enclosure, a witness told Canadian Television in an e-mail Sunday.
A few crows took exception to the invasion and started harassing the eagle by aggressively swooping down on it.
"Suddenly, I noticed two of the lionesses had snuck up on the whole scene with amazing quickness and stealth. They jumped on the log attempting to attack the eagle, but missed."
"The eagle managed to fly away but right into the waiting jaws of a third lioness, who pounced on it with astonishing speed and agility," the e-mail says.
The handlers arrived within seconds, but they were too late to save the eagle.
Zoo officials told reporters that the eagle had been raised in captivity and sent to the Greater Vancouver Zoo barely a year ago from another zoo in eastern Canada.
The zoo is still recovering from the death of a spider monkey, who was beaten and killed when his cage was broken into in May.
Another monkey was stolen in the break-in and has yet to be found.
