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The Assiniboine Park Zoo said it will be temporarily closing its new Stingray Beach exhibit due to some unexpectedly amorous behaviour by the exhibit’s residents.

The zoo said Wednesday that they’ve noticed an escalation in natural mating behaviour over the past month, which has led to the death of three stingrays as well as several other injuries,

“This kind of behaviour is observed in wild stingrays as well as those in human care,” said the zoo in a statement on Facebook.

READ MORE: Assiniboine Park Zoo welcomes visitors to new interactive stingray exhibit

“While we have seen some improvement, our animal care team requires the opportunity to provide treatment and observe the stingrays at length without outside influences.”

The Stingray Beach exhibit, which was introduced to the public over the May long weekend, will re-open as soon as possible, the zoo said.

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