Search Exotic Incidents Database

A “pet” tiger became aggressive and scratched two pet store workers and bite another while the tiger was having her photograph taken. The “pet” tiger was one of two owned by the family.

A 8-foot-2-inch-long venomous king cobra escaped its habitat and went into a crevice high above the glass enclosure. Handlers kept watch for hours and tried luring it into its home with rat meat and used a blast of carbon dioxide, but resorted to killing it with a rifle shot to avoid injury to themselves.

A cougar named Missy briefly escaped from the property she was being housed at by jumping over a 10-ft wall after a barrier fence fell down.

A woman flushed her toilet and came face to face with a 6-ft-long boa constrictor. A wildlife expert removed the snake from the toilet. The snake, dubbed Johnny, was a “pet” that found its way into the sewer system.

A “pet” monkey, Angel, bit at least 5 people on separate occasions, including a boy who lived in the neighborhood. Angel’s teeth were removed to prevent further bites.

An elephant attacked an assistant trainer during a training exercise at the Los Angeles Zoo, breaking three ribs and a collarbone.

A 50-year-old man who secretly kept 12 “pet” snakes at his home was bitten by a 1-ft-long poisonous viper on his left index finger while milking it for venom. The man was rushed to the hospital for antivenin. The police confiscated all 12 snakes (8 rattlesnakes, 2 African puff adders, an African rhinoceros viper, and another snake unidentified) and were attempting to relocate them to the Bronx Zoo.

Bonnie, an 8-year-old Bengal tiger at Keepers of the Wild, mauled her trainer when he fed her. The trainer underwent surgery on his feet and legs.

A child riding an elephant at the Octoberfest festival knocked her head when she slipped in the seat and fell on her side. The girl was taken to the hospital for treatment of a possible concussion.

A 19-year-old man was killed by his “pet” python after the snake wrapped itself around the man’s neck. The snake was kept uncaged in the man’s apartment and was presumed safe since it never attacked the household cat.