Search Exotic Incidents Database

GREENVILLE, SC – A four-year-old Amur leopard named Irina has been captured after escaping her enclosure and was loose within the zoo grounds at the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina. City staff and Greenville Police responded. A perimeter was established according to zoo emergency protocols. Zoo staff and guests were evacuated to strategic locations as a precaution.

At approximately 9:20, Greenville Zoo emergency response teams were able to successfully tranquilize Irina. After a precautionary second injection, she was transported back to the secured leopard den.

FORT WAYNE, IN – The Fort Wayne Zoo evacuated one of its many exhibits Friday after an animal escaped from their enclosure. According to the Fort Wayne Zoo, zoo-goers were directed to evacuate the African Savanna exhibit after a wildebeest escaped from their enclosure in the African Veldt.

The male white-bearded wildebeest is one of the zoo’s most recent animal acquisitions as of July 7, according to a Facebook post from the zoo. As the wildebeest acclimates to their new home, the other animals in the African Veldt are quarantined away from the Veldt.

A zoo staff member had noticed that the wildebeest had moved from their primary habitat to an adjacent habitat through a shared pond space just after noon on Friday in the African Veldt area. The team member made a radio call to initiate their emergency response protocol and cleared the area of guests. Once the area was cleared, the wildebeest went back to the enclosure of his own volition and was monitored closely by animal care and veterinary teams.

MILWAUKEE, WI – Ginger, the white tiger whose illness drew attention from over 500,000 Facebook followers, died June 27 at Shalom Wildlife Zoo in Washington County, the zoo said in a Facebook post.

Ginger had been sick for more than a week. The cause of her death has not yet been publicly disclosed. Ginger’s illness first surfaced in a Facebook post on June 18, when the zoo stated that she “[wasn’t] feeling well.” The next day, it was announced that she had a uterine infection and was being treated with medication.

On June 23, four days before she died, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked Shalom which veterinarians were treating Ginger and what diagnostic steps had been taken. Zoo co-owner David Fechter declined to answer, citing Wisconsin’s physician-patient privilege – a legal protection that applies to humans and does not extend to animals.

Two of Ginger’s cubs, Khan and Nina, drowned in a partially frozen pond at the zoo in November 2022. The USDA cited Shalom for failing to protect the animals during unsafe weather conditions and issued an official warning.

LANCASTER, TX – Earlier this week, a giraffe went missing in Central Texas. Now, an emu is on the loose in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Temu the emu escaped from the Bear Creek area in Lancaster, just south of Dallas. He was last seen near Parkerville Road and Interstate 35. He is about 15 months old and is fully grown.

Temu’s owner told FOX 4 that she has already reached out to the local authorities and several animal groups for help. “We still haven’t located him. I just got home from walking the fields and woods again. I’m just praying he’s okay,” Aleta Cronce said. Cronce said she raised Temu by hand with another female emu, who is currently very distraught.

SAN ANTONIO, TX – A “small number” of baboons escaped their Texas Biomedical Research Institute enclosure, remaining on campus.

The institute responded Wednesday morning to the incident. Trained animal care and veterinary teams were able to quickly recover the animals.

The baboons are housed at the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at the institute. They are part of the breeding colony and are not infectious, according to officials.

SACRAMENTO, CA – An alligator at the Sacramento Zoo is recovering after swallowing – and later regurgitating – a plush toy that fell into his habitat.

The zoo said the toy apparently fell into Guinness the American alligator’s habitat on Friday. Zookeepers tried to stop Guinness from eating it, but he eventually swallowed the toy. Because the toy was too large to pass naturally, veterinarians decided to sedate Guinness and attempt an endoscopic procedure to remove it.

The zoo said the procedure was unsuccessful. Guinness was then kept out of his habitat so staff could monitor him and prepare for another attempt to remove the toy.

On Monday, the zoo announced that Guinness had regurgitated the plush. A security guard noticed the toy and alerted zookeepers, who safely removed it. Zoo officials said the incident is an important reminder that foreign objects can pose serious risks to animals, even when they may seem harmless. Guinness is now back in his habitat and is being monitored.

ANCHORAGE, AK – A graphic video from the Alaska Zoo has spread widely on TikTok after capturing a larger brown bear attacking a smaller one as visitors, including children, watched.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the injured bear suffered “moderate” wounds and is expected to survive. The zoo has temporarily shut its brown bear exhibit as officials examine the incident. The zoo had to use pepper spray to separate the bears and initiate safety protocols to separate them from each other following the incident.

Stephanie Samaniego, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Anchorage Daily News that the larger bear was Izzy, an orphaned brown bear from King Cove that was brought to the zoo years ago.

The smaller bear, a female, came from a wildlife center near Haines last year. Samaniego said she had not previously lived with other bears, and the zoo first housed her separately before moving her into the main habitat in September.

COLUMBIA, SC – An exotic pet that managed to make an unexpected escape has been returned to her owner. Kevin Meyers, supervisor of Columbia/Boone County Animal Control, said an African spurred tortoise was claimed by her owner a day after she was taken in by his department.

Last week, animal control officer Jimmy Salings posted a picture of the animal inside the animal control office and said she was found in the area of Route Z and Enterprise Drive. The owner had photographic proof the tortoise was his and explained his male tortoise made a hole in a fence big enough that his new tortoise escaped from. The owner had just adopted her the weekend before she got out.

MONTREAL, CANADA – A runaway kangaroo was spotted meandering through the Montreal area after escaping potentially unlawful captivity. The red kangaroo was seen hopping in open fields in the Montreal suburb of Boucherville.

The Galahad SPCA said on social media that, based on preliminary information, the kangaroo appears to have escaped from where they were being kept on June 12. Quebec’s Environment Ministry stated it believes the animal “was being kept illegally in facilities that did not comply with Quebec regulations.”

Footage of the kangaroo loose in the Quebec field shows the marsupial’s body poking out above tall grass. On June 15, the kangaroo was spotted in the same field, and on June 16, the animal was captured. The Ministry confirms that the animal is now awake, in good health, and has arrived safely at the Granby Zoo. The animal’s new home is located in Granby, Quebec.

SANFORD, FL – The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens announced the loss of Willow, a female sloth receiving behind-the-scenes care, marking the fifth death among animals undergoing rehabilitation after being rescued from a troubled Orlando attraction, “Sloth World”.

Zoo officials said Willow’s health had steadily declined in recent weeks despite daily monitoring and treatment from Animal Care, Nutrition, and Veterinary teams. After consulting with experts and conducting a comprehensive quality-of-life assessment, the staff made the difficult decision to euthanize her.

Her death is the latest in a series of losses tied to the rescue effort. Prior to Willow, four other sloths under or shortly after transfer into care — Bandit, Habanero, Dumpling, and a baby sloth named Mr. Ginger — died as a result of severe health complications. These recent deaths bring the total number of deaths connected to the Sloth World operation to at least 57.