Search Exotic Incidents Database

A free-roaming cougar was killed after she attacked a dog. Two lion cubs appeared in the same area the next morning and were captured. It was suspected that the lion and cubs were “pets” and were released in central Minnesota by the “owner.”

An 18-year-old girl died from a venomous snake bite. The girl was doing laundry in her home when the snake crawled through a vent and bit her.

A “pet” bear bit a 31-year-old man on the inside of his right forearm.

A 40-year-old elephant, Mamie, spooked by something she saw, broke free from her handlers and injured two elephant handlers. She broke through a metal gate and charged onto a wood patio. The patio was not designed to hold her weight and began to break, upsetting her more. The injured employees suffered head gashes and one had a broken rib.

An 8-year-old girl died after her family’s “pet” 10-ft-long Burmese python suffocated her. The snake was one of five “pet” snakes owned by the family. The girl’s father was charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and child endangerment; the mother was charged with child endangerment.

A black panther jumped into a neighborhood backyard and grabbed and killed the family’s dog. The panther was suspected of belonging to a former neighborseveral of whose exotic animals previously escaped.

A “pet” lion bit a woman trying to feed peaches to some bears.

A “pet” monkey bit a 6-year-old girl on the arm during a county festival. The monkey slept with the possessor’s daughter.

An 11-ft-long Burmese python, Jake, escaped from his backyard cage and was loose for two days before being recaptured. The snake remained in the custody of a reptile trapper. Authoriities were investigating the circumstances regarding the snake’s escape.

A “pet” iguana, Elvis, escaped from his backyard after he was let out to sunbathe. Elvis was found two weeks later in a tree.