Search Exotic Incidents Database

Reports of an African lion at large spurred a helicopter search in El Paso County. A grainy cell phone camera photo showed what appeared to be a lion.

Palo Alto officials hired an animal tracker to find the mountain lion that attacked a man over the weekend. The 50-year-old hiker was not injured but narrowly escaped with his life when the cat leaped on him from behind.

The pastor of a Middlesboro church was among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in a crackdown on venomous snakes. The officers confiscated more than 100 snakes, many of them deadly, and an alligator, in an undercover sting. The animals were placed with the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade.

Ozzie, a serval cat, escaped from his caretaker walking him near Georgia Tech. Ozzie was recaptured and the Department of Natural Resources attempted to contact Ozzie’s possessor to verify the necessary permits, etc. The cat was taken to an unnamed facility pending further investigation.

Police found 17 exotic snakes, 12 of them venomous, inside a room at the Hy-Way Motel near Fairfax Circle. The motel manager investigated a foul odor coming from one of the rooms and police discovered the snakes concealed in luggage. Two had died. The investigation was ongoing.

Officials of the MGM Mirage Hotel were investigating the death of a dolphin at the hotel’s aquatic habitat. Sage was 11 years old at the time of death. Thirteen other dolphins had died at Sigefried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat since the attraction opened in 1990.

An American alligator was found in a floodwater pool in a resident’s backyard. Authorities captured the alligator and transported him to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.

A “pet” monkey bit a teenaged girl at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park. The Health Department issued a press release to gather information about the monkey’s general health history so proper medical treatment could be provided to the patient.

A “pet” Japanese snow monkey got loose and bit a woman who was visiting the possessor’s home. The monkey was recaptured and was put in the care of a St. Louis veterinarian. Authorities attempted to identify the monkey’s possessor.

A Japanese macaque was seen on Castle Oaks Court according to state investigators who received photos of the animal. No permit was issued to anyone in the area to keep a captive macaque. A wildlife trap was set in an attempt to capture the monkey.