Search Exotic Incidents Database

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials investigated a reported black bear attack on two people at the local zoo. One of the victims, a woman, suffered injuries requiring her to be life-flighted to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV. The man was treated and released at the Uniontown Hospital.

A Chickasaw County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a tiger that escaped from her cage at a local farm. The farm’s possessors also had two cougars and a bear. The matter was turned over to the USDA for investigation.

Wildlife officers were investigating reports that a large, hairy primate (possibly an orangutan) was running loose in the woods. One officer spied the primate about 100 feet up a tree but declined to shoot a tranquilizer dart at it because the primate could suffer severe or fatal injuries from the fall.

FL Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials confiscated 5 tigers and a lion from a big-cat facility in Inverness, FL. Owner, Susan MacKay, has had numerious citations and violations in the past stemming back to 2005. The cats were sent to another private owner of cats who already owned 14 big cats and other exotic animals in his backyard that was only 2.5 acres.

A fire broke out at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Encounter Exhibit, killing an armadillo, some small birds, some turtles, and a snake. The surviving animals were treated at a local vet clinic and the exhibit remained closed until the cause of the fire could be determined.

A woman purchased a monkey from the Mt. Hope Animal Auction but later wanted to return her because the monkey had become aggressive. The pet shop owners told her that they couldn’t take the monkey back because USDA regulations required a 30-day quarantine.

Authorities seized a 3-year-old coatimundi. According to the state Fish and Game, exhibitors and other professionals may obtain special permits to possess a coatimundi but keeping one as a “pet” is prohibited.

Police raided two houses where thieves were hoarding exotic animals, including a Brazilian parrot and other exotic birds, a rare breed of small fox, an Australian wallaby, a fish tank of piranhas, and several wild cat breeds. A couple in their mid-20s was arrested. Several of the animals were returned to their rightful possessors.

Local health officials may have identified the possessor of a “pet” monkey that bit two children in a Columbia park, setting off a statewide primate hunt. A woman was wanted for questioning regarding the incident. See 09/28/07.

Authorities from Columbia County Animal Care are investigating an incident involving a 17-month-old toddler bitten by a baboon at the Columbia County Merchants Fall Fair. The mother took the child to her pediatrician for treatment.