Search Exotic Incidents Database

A man was arrested while traveling in Florida and faced charges for having a tiger cub and a cougar cub without the required permits. The cubs, placed in the McCarthy Wildlife Sanctuary in Florida, were not to be released to the man unless he secured the necessary permits. The man was co-owner of Arcangel Wildlife in Underwood, MN, which was under investigation after a girl was hurt by a tiger earlier in the month. See 03/03/05 incident.

A big cat spotted on the loose.

A 16-year-old girl babysitting for the co-owner of Arcangel Wildlife was injured when she petted one of the ten tigers on the property. The tiger caused lacerations to her hand that required 12 stitches. A serious infection set in and she needed three successive operations to her hand.

Two chimpanzees escaped their cages and attacked a man and a woman who were visiting another chimpanzee at the Animal Haven Ranch. The man was severely mauled, requiring extensive surgery, and the woman lost as finger. An Animal Haven employee fatally shot two of the chimpanzees to stop the attack. The other two chimps remained loose for several hours before being recaptured.

There were several sightings of large reptiles in Lake Washington.

A 352-pound Siberian tiger named Tuffy escaped from the property of Abby and Emma Hedengrans. He roamed the area for over four weeks before being shot and killed by authorities several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development. The couple kept 22 exotic cats, and one of their lynxes escaped around the same time (see 1/31/05 incident), but they denied that the tiger was theirs. They were arrested.

A 500-lb Bengal tiger escaped from the Panther Ridge Sanctuary after his caretaker neglected to latch his cage. The 4-year-old tiger was loose for two hours before being tranquilized and returned to his cage. His “owner” was cited for escaped captive wildlife, a second-degree misdemeanor.

A 13-ft-long python was found on a busy street in Englewood.

A big cat was spotted on the loose in the Pemberville area.

A tiger cub bit a woman’s hand during an exhibit at the Tampa Bay Auto Mall. Two adult tigers and two cubs were on display so people could have their photographs taken with the tigers. The tigers were supplied by Bottomline Events, in conjunction with Zoo Dynamics, which provided animals to zoos and exhibits. Their caretaker was charged with unsafe handling of captive wildlife, resulting in injury to person.