..and loot at THAT...IS DEEP ..Short but deep nasty scratch,and HURTS!!!!! yes it DOES..HURTS...but 
,it doesn't seem to have ANY effect in performance...or does it?Yes,,,The Evil word..SCRATCH,,SCRATCH..o lord ,what a nightmare..and yes it happened..Listen,i never used the objective covers in ANY of my binos,and NEVER scratched them(maybe a light cleaning mark in coatings,but never the glass)..Now i used the covers in the ZEN at ALL times,AND WHAT????????..i dont even know what happened,or how is it possible..never even cleaned them(well,not with sand paper,anyway)..only blew the dust with a blower a couple times..and loot at THAT...IS DEEP ..Short but deep nasty scratch,and HURTS!!!!! yes it DOES..HURTS...but ,it doesn't seem to have ANY effect in performance...or does it?
Sorry to hear about your nightmare.
You say a short but deep scratch?
Is it in near the middle or edge?
While i am no expert, I did have a somewhat similar experience with a digital camera. Something must have gotten wedged in between the lens and the cover (which closes when camera is turned off)
The scratch was really only noticable when taking shots of a clear blue sky.
if you are not seeing anything through the bins in normal use, you might want to try looking at a solid single color to see if the scratch does show up.
have you tried contacting ZR? Which ZR's do you have?
You might be one of the first to test the warranty and/or repairability of the ZENS.
Please keep us posted
Richard
As far as lens caps go, they easily fall off. In transporting binoculars, the case is the best insurance against damage. I do not always use a case. More often I use it if it can hang on the belt for smaller models.
The scratch will bother you as much as you will let it. Just go on birding. Enjoy the birds.