Search Exotic Incidents Database

Momo the monkey has been captured by authorities after “running rampant” for the night in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Momo, a male patas monkey kept as a pet, had broken into a vacant home in the Irongate Estates. The police trapped him inside a bathroom by shutting the doors. This wasn’t his first escape – apparently, Momo had previously escaped his enclosure back in July.

Since the escape, Momo has been turned over to Indianapolis Animal Care Services. He is currently being held under Chapter 531 at the Indianapolis Zoo for veterinary care. Prosecutors are looking further into potential charges, though a permit is not required to own a monkey in Indianapolis.

A 2-year-old boy was bitten by a monkey at the Bow Champs Exotic Petting Zoo in Hidalgo County, Texas. The boy’s mother said that their fun that day ended when her son approached the cage containing Chicharo, the zoo’s vervet monkey.

“The monkey was able to reach out, grab him by the neck, pull him in and bite him right above his eyebrow,” she said, adding that she and her husband immediately grabbed their son and washed his wounds with soap and water.

Petting zoo employees were not around when the attack happened, and the handler later assured her the monkey was vaccinated. “We still felt uneasy, we were not comfortable.”

Sanchez later found out the monkey was not fully vaccinated. She paid $250 to get monkey’s blood tested; those results are still pending.

Bow Champs Petting Zoo Tour Guide Jorge Garcia said this isn’t the first time Chicharo has hurt a customer.

Three employees, including the president, have been charged with animal cruelty at Noah’s Ark sanctuary. They are facing several misdemeanor charges.

The court alleges that the president of the facility, Shelly Lackly, failed to provide food, water, and sanitary conditions to several animals.

If convicted, each misdemeanor charge carries up to one year in prison. We hope that justice will be served accordingly, and that the animals will receive better care in the future.

The NYPD has ticketed a man who was found walking the Coney Island boardwalk with a wallaby in his arms. The police confiscated the wallaby and issued a court summons for the 22-year-old man

The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport says a 4-year-old Brazilian ocelot named “Pipoca” has died suddenly due to complications from artificial insemination surgery.

The zoo says the surgery was intended to help the ocelot get pregnant.

US Border Patrol agents stationed at Texas’s Fort Brown Station made a startling discovery when they intercepted a man attempting to smuggle seven spider monkeys into the United States from Mexico.

Footage from the incident shows the young monkeys, all crammed into a small backpack, peering up at the agents. Unfortunately, this video represents the reality of both the legal and illegal wildlife trade.

A mother and baby giraffe died at Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas, just days apart from each other.

Penelope, a 10-year-old Masai giraffe, passed away in mid-July. Three days later, her one-month-old calf, Zuri, also died.

After Penelope died, the zoo began hand-rearing Zuri and transitioned her to a milk formula and attempted to bond her with another female giraffe named Jenny. The zoo veterinarian and staff had been monitoring her progress, but unfortunately, she passed away in the following days.

The zoo has ordered necropsies on both giraffes and will do an independent review of their deaths, which could take several weeks.