Search Exotic Incidents Database

Mac, a 2-year-old elephant calf at the Houston Zoo, is the latest of six victims of the herpes virus.

A Savannah hybrid cat that escaped his possessor for more than six months was reunited with her. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game demanded that she relocate the “pet” cat as they are not legal in Alaska.

Malti, the newest edition to the Calgary Zoo’s elephant herd, died just one day after being diagnosed with elephant herpes-virus. Zookeepers worked around the clock to try to save her. A necropsy would be conducted to determine cause of her death.

A Delta Airlines ground crew member opened the cargo door of a jet which arrived from Portland, Oregon to find a cheetah running loose among the suitcases and other luggage. Two cheetahs were being transported to the Atlanta Zoo when one escaped his crate.

According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a tiger scratched a person walking by the enclosure. There were insufficient barriers between the animals and the public.

A state trooper found a 200-lb animal lying injured alongside Route 2. Authorities were called to euthanize what was identified as a large, wild Russian boar.

Construction workers found a dead 4-ft-long North American alligator along an embankment off Highway 978.

Atlanta Zoo’s 28-year-old African elephant, Dottie, died. She was pregnant with her first calf. Zoo officials noticed significant body weight changes and cloudy urine and began antibiotics on October 22. A necropsy was to be performed to determine the cause of death.

Rufus, a 34-year-old white rhinoceros, was found dead in the animals’ night house. Rufus apparently died after the zoo’s other rhino, 40-year-old Alfred, charged at him and struck him in the side with his horn, causing severe internal injuries. A zoo official said the fatal incident was the result of an error on the part of a zoo staff member because the two rhinos were meant to be kept separated.

A Polk County rancher reported that several Patas monkeys who escaped from nearby Safari Wild in April had taken up residence on his property. Safari Wild staff continued to lay out traps to capture the remaining primates.