December 31, 2005 Colleyville, TX Jake, a 1-year-old kangaroo, escaped from an open back gate at Colby’s Xtreme Pets and traveled half a mile down Texas Highway 26. A startled passerby called 911. Other
December 30, 2005 McHenry County, IL Sue, one of several Hawthorn Corporation Asian elephants scheduled to move to The Elephant Sanctuary pursuant to a 2004 settlement with the USDA for dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act, died prior to her move after an adverse reaction to the tranquilizer administered during blood tests on 12/19/05. Sue was 40 years old. A necropsy was scheduled to be performed. Elephants
December 25, 2005 St. Louis, MO A man was bitten by his cobra as he was trying to feed the animal. Reptiles
December 21, 2005 Tulsa, OK A bobcat hybrid bit a child at a shopping mall after the “owner’ took the animal with him to use the restroom. Small Cats
December 11, 2005 Chanute, KS A sheriff’s deputy investigating an escaped “pet” bear incident found that the bear was not in the cage. When the deputy returned to his patrol car, the bear appeared and entered the patrol car. The bear was successfully recaptured. The bear had escaped previously. Bears
December 7, 2005 Los Angeles, CA Paris Hilton was attacked by her “pet” kinkajou, Baby Luv. Paris took Baby Luv shopping with her and the animal clawed at her face. Paris was notified that it is illegal to have exotic “pets” in California and the animal was relocated outside the state. Other
December 1, 2005 Foley, AL A healthy 2-year-old Bengal tiger at the Kids Country Zoo was euthanized and stuffed and mounted for display at the zoo. Several individuals offered to take the tiger rather than see it put down, including Tiger Haven in Tennessee, Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, and a facility in Texas, but the zoo’s owner said the tiger was dangerous and opted to administer a lethal injection of medication instead. The Baldwin County District Attorney launched an investigation. Big Cats
November 26, 2005 Covington, KY A “pet” monkey escaped from his home and was loose for several days before he was recaptured. Primates
November 16, 2005 Greensboro, NC A serval cat escaped for the second time from his home (see incident 10/09/05). The serval pushed out a panel in the basement of the house where he was kept. Small Cats
November 15, 2005 Greenwich, NY Tahan, a 7-year-old tiger at Ashville Game Farm and Exotic Zoo, escaped through the top of her pen after pushing free a section of the chain fence that was nailed across top of her cage. After being found in the yard of a home, Tahan was tranquilized and returned to the zoo. Tahan formerly performed with a Florida-based circus. Big Cats