Search Exotic Incidents Database

A 1-year-old wolf-hybrid was recaptured after running loose and killing a neighbor’s chicken. He was scheduled to be put to death.

A man was bitten on the lip when he attempted to kiss his “pet” rattlesnake.

A “pet” bear escaped from his home and was loose for a brief period of time before he was recaptured.

Two “pet” coatimundis were on the loose in a Milwaukee neighborhood after they escaped from their home.

Two tiger cubs were loose on a neighbor’s roof. They were subsequently recaptured.

A woman discovered an 8-ft-long “pet” python in her backyard.

Samson, a 500-lb African lion at Knoll’s 77 Zoological Park, attacked a zookeeper who entered his cage for a photo. The lion grabbed the man, threw him into a corner, and chewed on him before releasing the man. The zookeeper had a hole ripped in his throat, his right eye pulled out of its socket, severed tendons in his neck and chest, torn skin, and bites down to the bone. He was listed in critical condition for 11 days. He lost 80% of his eyesight and needed an operation to restore his vision. He had trained large animals since the age of 12 when he began training bears in a circus in Europe.

A cougar was hit and mortally injured by a car after he ran onto the Interstate. It was suspected the cougar was a “pet” since it was the first documented sighting of a cougar in the area for more than a century.

A caged, green mamba snake bit a man on his finger.

A 13-year-old lion named Tana was found dead in his cage one day after a complete checkup. Zoo records show that nearly twice as much anesthesia was used on Tana as in 8 previous procedures. Keepers called twice after the exam to tell vets that Tana was groggy and glassy-eyed, but no vet checked on him after he was returned to his exhibit. The pathology report concluded that Tana died of complications of anesthesia. A preliminary necropsy found the death was due to an unexplained buildup of blood and fluid in his lungs.