Search Exotic Incidents Database

A 30-year-old man was bitten on the hand by his rattlesnake while moving the snake from one tank to another. Venomous snakes are illegal within the city limits.

A lion cub at the Creature Features Pet Store bit an 8-year-old girl who visiting the store. Baraboo Police ordered the pet store owner to quarantine the cub for at least 10 days.

A woman was treated for a potentially serious hand wound after being bitten by her friend’s rattlesnake.

Two tiger cubs were found wandering along a highway on the Gaston and Cleveland County border and were captured. Both tigers were female and appeared to be from the same litter. The tigers were placed at Carnivore Preservation Trust.

Several sightings were made of a cougar on the loose. It was suspected that there might be two cougars and that they were escaped or dumped “pets.”

A man released his “pet” tiger near the town of Erbie along the Buffalo River. The tiger found his way back home, trekking some 60 miles of wilderness. The man subsequently relinquished the tiger to a wildlife sanctuary.

A kangaroo found 50 miles west of Madison was captured.

A poisonous snake bit a zookeeper’s hand while the handler was cleaning the reptile house at the San Diego Zoo. The reptile handler was taken to a nearby hospital. The Brazilian lancehead pit viper apparently did not release any venom.

A worker for Animals of Montana (a company that rents out trained wildlife and exotics) sustained injuries when he was attacked by one of the resident mountain lions. The injury was originally reported as a scratch, however, doctors later noted that it was a scalp laceration that cut down to the worker’s skull and could have killed him had another worker not stepped in and sprayed the lion with bear spray.

Tara, an African elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, died unexpectedly. Born in East Africa in 1965, Tara was brought to the Los Angeles Zoo in 1966. Necropsy was being performed to determine the cause of death.