Search Exotic Incidents Database

Piedmont, OK – After more than two months of searching, an Oklahoma woman’s pet tortoise was found, only about 100 feet from home. In late August, Cherrie Zaidi put her two African Spur Tortoises, named Phineas and Ferb, outside of their Piedmont, Oklahoma, home, as she usually did. Normally, she explained, she would check on them every couple of hours. One day, she got preoccupied on a phone call. By the time she was able to go look, Ferb had shimmied his way under an area of their fence. From there, a search was on.

It had been nine weeks and four days without Ferb by the time her husband found him about 100 feet into a field behind their home.

Durango, CO – Officers were surprised when a 911 caller reported a “baby kangaroo with a diaper on” wandering around a major city street. The chase was short lived, and the kangaroo was quickly caught without incident.

The diaper indicated to the officers that the animal was likely a legal exotic pet, and quickly managed to track down the owner and return the kangaroo safe and sound. The department posted about the incident on their Facebook to “make light” of the situation, which could have been deadly for the young kangaroo wandering around the busy streets.

Chicago, IL – A rare, endangered exotic cat was captured after being reported on the loose in the north suburbs. Hoffman Estates police captured the caracal at a home after several days prowling the neighborhood near Hilldale Golf Club.

Officers surrounded a resident’s home just after 8 a.m. Tuesday after one of her neighbors spotted the feline on her back patio and called the police. The cat retreated under the deck as police closed in; officers eventually used a tranquilizer rifle to sedate the animal and then cage them. Luckily, the caracal was not harmed, police said.

It took nearly a dozen officers more than two hours to finally corner the feline. Now, the cat is headed to the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat in Sharon, Wisconsin.

Florence, SC – A man who owned more than a dozen snakes remains in serious condition days after one of the venomous reptiles bit him at his South Carolina home, according to the Florence Police Department. As he recovers, the 14 snakes that were seized from his home were killed, police said Tuesday morning in a news release.

Police said they tried to avoid euthanizing the venomous snakes, but none of the facilities that police contacted to care for the reptiles would accept them because of potential health and safety issues that the snakes could introduce.

The euthanized snakes included two Gaboon vipers, two Black Forest cobras, two adult rattlesnakes, two neotropical rattlesnakes, a single green mamba, Fer-de-Lance, death adder, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, an unknown small rattlesnake, and an Inland taipan, according to the release.

Sioux Falls, SD – An ostrich was found frantic in the middle of South Louise Avenue the morning of Aug. 27th, heading south in front of Coffea Roasterie.

Sioux Falls Animal Control confirmed that the lost ostrich belonged to an owner with a faulty door on the back of his trailer. The owner was able to fetch him promptly, fix the mechanical issue on the trailer, and be on his way with the ostrich in tow.

Rhoades could not confirm where the owner of the ostrich was coming from or going to, only that he was passing through Sioux Falls.

Houston, TX – Less than a week after announcing the birth of a tiny African piglet, a Texas zoo is mourning after the piglet was fatally attacked.

On Aug. 25, just two days after sharing the good news, the zoo said the newborn red river hog is dead, and that an adult hog was responsible. “Despite our team’s best efforts, the piglet passed away after being unexpectedly attacked by another female hog in the group,” zoo officials said.

Zoo officials said the piglet’s death is a tragic example of nature taking its course. “In the wild, animals sometimes display aggression toward young ones, especially when establishing social hierarchies within their groups. While difficult for all of us, it’s important to recognize that such behaviors are part of the complex natural world,” officials said.

The zoo didn’t say if this incident will change the way it cares for the hogs going forward. It’s also unclear what, if anything, has been done regarding the hog that attacked the newborn.

Jacksonville, FL – A gorilla named Bulera at the Jacksonville Zoo has died unexpectedly due to shigella. Shigella is a bacterium that mainly affects the intestines and can cause digestive complications. According to the zoo, “Although we may never know the exact source, the bacteria may have come from an asymptomatic ape or, though unlikely, a staff member.”