April 27, 2003 Queens, NY A 4-ft-long alligator was discovered in Alley Pond Park. It was unclear to whom the alligator belonged. Reptiles
April 27, 2003 Fountain Hills, AZ A capuchin monkey escaped from its cage, turned the key in the front door, and was loose on a three-day rampage. Primates
April 25, 2003 San Antonio, TX Hanna, a 350-lb lioness at Wild Animal Orphanage, escaped from her cage and roamed a neighborhood. Police on the ground and in a helicopter found Hanna. The sanctuary director shot Hanna with a tranquilizer dart, frightening the lioness who charged and knocked the director down. The director is treated for a fractured pelvis and a bruised rib. Ninety minutes later Hanna was again found and another dart fired. Hanna charged the group and four police officers fired with handguns and shotguns, killing Hanna. Big Cats
April 25, 2003 Boise, ID A 13-month-old boy dies after being attacked by a wolf-hybrid. The child suffered more than a hundred bite wounds and a punctured jugular vein. Other
April 19, 2003 South San Francisco, CA A cougar was killed by a car along Interstate 280. It was unclear whether the animal was a “pet” or from the wild. Big Cats
April 10, 2003 Green Bay, WI Jasper, a “pet” monkey, escaped through the back door of the bar his possessor was patronizing and was recaptured three days later. Primates
April 8, 2003 Pataskala, OH Three African servals escaped after scratching through the screen on their possessor’s bedroom window. Two of the servals were recaptured and the other one was on the loose in the central Ohio Community. Small Cats
April 2, 2003 San Antonio, TX A buffalo at a petting zoo behind Rachel’s Country Corner gored and trampled a 29-year-old caretaker to death. USDA officials were looking into possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Other
March 31, 2003 Adair, OK A tiger attacked a volunteer handler at Safari Joe’s Rock Creek Exotic Animal Park when she leaned against the cage. The tiger ripped off her left arm. The woman died from loss of blood. The tiger belonged to International Wildlife Center of Texas, which leased the building in the park. Big Cats