Search Exotic Incidents Database

A 29-year-old female Asian elephant escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds after being spooked. The elephant was struck by a couple in an SUV. The couple was not injured but the elephant sustained a broken tusk, an injured leg, and bumps, bruises, and scratches. A local vet administered a calming shot and treated the elephant’s injuries. The elephant was later transported to the veterinary school at Oklahoma State University for a follow-up exam.

A pet store owner caught a 5-ft-long alligator behind a shopping mall in an effort to save the alligator from being killed by authorities. The owner was willing to wade through a leech-filed swamp to rescue the reptile. The alligator was turned over to the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to be placed in a suitable sanctuary.

A Vero Beach neighborhood had an unwanted visitor when a 9-ft-long Burmese python was captured in a backyard. Indian River Care and Control took temporary custody of the snake but intended to turn him over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

A man was attacked by a “zonkey” while painting the fence at Boyett Groves. He suffered numerous bite marks on his lower legs.

Teddy, a 9-year-old 350-lb black bear raised from a cub, attacked and killed his “owner” while she cleaned his cage. A neighbor shot the bear dead. The bear was owned legally. A local official said that owners of wild animals usually have a two-section cage, allowing them to isolate the animal behind a locked gate while they clean the other part, but he was baffled why this woman chose to go in the same area the bear was in, calling it a “fatal mistake. These things are not tame animals; they’re wild animals.”

Authorities continued to search for the last of six wolf hybrids that escaped their enclosure. Five were recovered but the sixth was reported to have been hit by a car and wasn’t located. Reports indicated that this was the fourth time this year the wolf hybrids had escaped their compound. **UPDATE: 10/03/09 The sixth wolf hybrid returned to his possessor early Saturday morning. Despite earlier reports that the hybrid wolf had suffered injuries from being hit by a car, his possessor said he didn’t see any injuries. It was believed that one of the hybrids attacked and killed a cat.

A 3-year-old boy was scratched by a lynx at the Little River Zoo. The toddler wandered too close to the cat enclosure and the wild cat scratched the boy on the face and head. The child was transported to Norman Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The 45-lb lynx was monitored and zoo officials investigated to take precautions to avoid a repeat incident.

A 5-ft-long boa constrictor was loose after escaping through the pipes connecting the bathroom toilet. Authorities were tipped off when the possessor canvassed the neighborhood, letting people know of the snake’s escape. The possessor reported that the snake escaped sometime in late August or early September but he failed to notify authorities until September 26.

A 21-year-old woman was hospitalized with severe injuries after one of two “pet” black bears attacked her right hand when she reached inside the bears’ cage. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources investigated the attack to determine if the possessors were properly licensed.

Officials safely recaptured an escaped African Serval cat near a mailbox in a Catalina Foothills neighborhood. The cat was in bad shape, dehydrated and tired. An examination showed that her feet were very sore and that a rear leg had been surgically removed. The cat was being cared for at the Tucson Wildlife Center but another facility would have to be found for her.