Sacramento Zoo officials are still at a loss to explain the death of Massina, a tawny, "sassy" 14-year-old lion.

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Massina suffocated last week in the crushing jaw-hold of her male companion.

Zookeepers describe such killings as rare, but on a national scale, they cannot say how rare. This was the third such incident in the past 30 years, Zoo Director Mary Healy said Friday. Each time, a male cat lashed out at a female.

"Everyone's affected by something like this," Healy told the Sacramento Bee. "We understand they're wild animals, but we feel very responsible for them."

Massina had been housed with Aslan, an 8-year-old male with a striking dark mane, for 15 months, Healy said. Zoo workers had seen them "sparring" at least three times, but didn't consider that uncommon.

There is no hint of what drove the behavior past normal lion sniping into lethal aggression, Healy said.