Search Exotic Incidents Database

The State of California ordered Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch to be shut down. Jackson began selling off his exotic animals, including elephants, tigers, orangutans, crocodile, and giraffes, for as little as one-quarter of their true value. A later report (04/26/06) stated that Jackson had quietly employed staff to care for his animals, which remained in his Neverland zoo.

The USDA opened a fourth investigation into Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus following an incident in which two elephants ran amok inside a San Juan arena. The elephants reportedly sustained injuries after being chased under the arena’s bleachers. Angelica, one of the elephants in the incident, is the same elephant videotaped being chained and beaten by bullhook, an incident for which Ringling is also under investigation.

Mamie, a 45-year-old African elephant at the Knoxville Zoo, was euthanized after 11 months of declining health. For the last 15 years Mamie suffered arthritis and foot problems. Born in Africa, Mamie came to Knoxville in 1979 from a zoo in Buffalo, NY.

A trucker transporting a tiger to the Putnam County Fair was bitten and suffered severed tendons in his forearm after sticking his arm in the tiger’s cage.

A rhesus monkey bit a person. The monkey was euthanized.

Zookeepers were trying to determine how a wolf at the Brookfield Zoo lost a leg; they were unable to find the severed limb after searching the wolf area of the zoo. The break was clean and the wolf showed no bite marks that might indicate a fight, and the other wolves were unharmed.

A 25-year-old woman was injured by an elephant when she climbed past barriers and entered the elephant’s exhibit at the Cameron Park Zoo.

Sandra and Kenneth Smith, owners of Wesa-A-Geh-Ya animal facility, settled with the USDA after being charged with violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The Smiths agreed to a civil penalty of $13,000 and revoking of their AWA license. Although the Smiths then no longer had a USDA exhibitor’s license or AWA license, no law prevented them from keeping their animals under little supervision from any state or federal agency.

Two zoo workers suffered injuries while handling an elephant for rides at RW Commerford’s Kids Fun Fair and Traveling Zoo. A trainer received a chest injury when the elephant pinned him against a wall and another employee placing children on the elephant for rides received a broken arm. Both were transported to hospital by ambulance.

A team of seven veterinarians surgically removed a 248-pound dead male calf from his elephant mother Genny C at the Seneca Park Zoo more than two weeks after determining that the calf died while Genny C was in labor. See 02/07/06.