Search Exotic Incidents Database

One male and two female lions once kept inside a junkyard-like enclosure were moved to the Detroit Zoo. Their possessor agreed to turn them over to Thomas County Sheriff’s office after one of the cats mauled a man earlier last month. All three lions were checked out by a vet and remained in quarantine at the Detroit Zoo for 30 days, eventually introduced to the zoo’s other lions.

Tumpe, a 24-year-old female African elephant, died Tuesday at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She had been suffering from skin sores and gastrointestinal problems for the past two months. Tumpe is the third elephant to die at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The park still has 12 elephants.

According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a zookeeper failed to handle infant bears with sufficient care. They fed the bears with a bottle in such a manner that both developed aspiration pneumonia from inhaling milk into their lungs, which caused the death of one of the bears.

A 23-year-old female employee of Wildlife Safari remained in serious condition at Mercy Medical Center after being attacked by a black bear she was attempting to feed. The employee hit the bear with a cattle prod and the angered animal then knocked the woman to the ground, inflicting large lacerations on her right thigh and hand.

A man with a history of improper care and control of both exotic and domestic animals was cited for illegally possessing an endangered Siamang Gibbon.

Fifteen childen, ranging in age from 8 to 12, suffered bumps and scrapes when the elephant giving rides they were waiting to ride became startled and knocked down a scaffolding stairway on which they were waiting. The incident took place during a performance of the Murat Shrine Circus.

A 50-lb alligator was discovered by firefighters who responded to a fire alarm at a former school site. The alligator returned to its possessor and no charges were filed.

A man who kept a hyena in his backyard, in a chain-link pen with a dog house, was cited by police for owning and displaying a wild or exotic animal.

A 300-lb Bengal tiger was rescued from a home near Waco and put in the care of the Humane Society of North Texas. The tiger was found living in unsafe conditions, underweight and infested with hookworms.

Ritkus, a male DeBrazza’s guenon, escaped from his exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo and was free for about 45 minutes before being tranquilized and safely returned to his exhibit.