Three female black bears fight to death over mate at Egyptian zoo

CAIRO, May 6 (UPI) -- Three female American black bears fought to the death in a battle to win the attention of a potential mate at the Giza Zoo in Cairo, officials said.

The bears fought for 4 hours Saturday, a month before the black bears' traditional mating season, Ahram Online reported.

Zoo workers tried to stop the fighting by spraying the bears with hoses but that did not work, and Lolo, Farah and Nabila died.

On Sunday, the male bear, Hani, chose a female mate named Nevine, Ahram Online said.