Search Exotic Incidents Database

Felony animal-cruelty charges were filed against a Bozeman man for abandoning primates and fish in his trailer home in January 2008. The man had previous convictions for cruelty to animals.

KeKe, a 39-year-old African elephant, passed away at the Dallas Zoo from serious illness. KeKe was sick for week and was being treated for a severe case of intestinal colic. KeKe recently stopped eating. She also lay on her side for some time, although zoo officials used a crane to lift her to her feet not long before her death. KeKe was transferred to Dallas Zoo in 2003 to be a companion for Jenny, the zoo’s other African elephant, and they subsequently became very close.

A zookeeper at the Toledo Zoo was injured by one of the tigers in its Tiger Terrace exhibit when the tiger reached her paw through the double mesh barrier, swiping at the keeper’s chest. The incident occurred during a routine morning cleaning and feeding session. The keeper was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for lacerations, then released. The zoo was conducting a review of the incident.

An exotic African serval cat escaped from the Egelston Township Animal Sanctuary. Recently the same sanctuary had a bear escape but that animal was successfully tranquilized and recaptured.

A 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly punching a camel at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, after he was dared by a friend to enter a restricted area at the park and punch this camel. Though the man was detained by park security, he escaped and ran from the park with his friends. He was subsequently arrested by police, along with the driver of the getaway car.

Woman in her mid-70s made a deal with authorities to relinquish 17 wolves, 5 bobcats, 60 domestic cats, and an unknown number of dogs to avoid criminal charges of animal cruelty because of deplorable living conditions. Some of the animals were placed in facilities in other states. She was able to keep 2 bobcats and 2 wolves and will be monitored closely by authorities.

An emu that had escaped from a possessor’s pen a week earlier was recaptured by police and Animal Control officers after wandering into a resident’s yard.

A 400-pound white tiger owned by Mark McCarthy of McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary bit it’s owner, Mark, in the leg during a video shoot for Rapper Rick Ross.

A bear escaped from the Society for the Protection and Care of Animals facility and was on the loose for a full week before being recaptured by the facilities staff. The facility is now being investigated as they failed to report the animal missing and initially denied having the bear at all to officials. A serval also escaped from this same facility and was never recaptured.

A serval escaped from a sanctuary and could not be found. A bear also escaped from the same sanctuary, but was later caught. DNR is investigating the sanctuary for possible licensing violations.