Search Exotic Incidents Database

Seven-year-old African elephant, Ajabu, has just passed away at the Dallas Zoo from the viral infection elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).

EEHV is considered the primary cause of calf mortality in the global captive Asian elephant population. While EEHV occurs in wild populations, it is not associated with mortality of the magnitude seen in captive Asian elephants.

A tornado in Troup County, Georgia, recently destroyed parts of a wild animal park. Wild Animal Safari Pine Mountain allowed a local news station inside to witness the damage on-site. According to the Zoo Director, thousands of trees were uprooted, and almost every animal enclosure in the park was damaged or completely destroyed.

Two tigers escaped their enclosure. Administration alerted the public. Luckily, they were safely tranquilized and returned back to their repaired enclosure within the following few days. Five animals died during the storm. Some of the animals had to be transferred to other zoos while their exhibits were being repaired. The noise of the ongoing cleanup and reparation machinery can be loud and distressing to many of the animals.

In Oklahoma, a woman’s ear was nearly ripped off by a neighbor’s pet monkey named Jack. The woman described the experience as traumatizing, as the monkey broke off a piece of the screen door on her porch when attempting to get inside.

When she went outside after police officers arrived at the scene, the monkey jumped on her head, bit her ear, and ripped out chunks of her hair. She will need plastic surgery. Quick to respond to the incident, a family member of the victim shot the monkey dead.

The woman now worries about letting her child go outside to play. People in the neighborhood were unaware that someone had a pet monkey.

A man in Ohio was hospitalized after being attacked by his pet zebra. Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call after a man reported his arm being nearly dismembered by his pet zebra.

When police arrived, the male zebra continued trying to charge the victim and others at the scene until a deputy shot and killed him. It is believed the male was acting out of protective instincts regarding the several female zebras who lived in the same field. Following the incident, the man’s arm has been successfully reattached.

The Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona, has announced that they euthanized a 3-year-old giraffe due to issues with his ankle.

Officials said they made the decision during a medical procedure to determine the source of Sota’s ankle swelling. They discovered that the ankle had no useable cartilage and would not support his weight. Zoo officials said it’s not clear how he injured his ankle.

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo officials are still investigating how a cheetah named Gretchen managed to escape her enclosure at the beginning this month.

She got out of her main enclosure and roamed around the area in between the perimeter fence and public barrier. Emergency protocols were immediately activated. Luckily, keepers were able to successfully guide Gretchen back into her enclosure without further complications.

Abandoned alligator rescued from New York City lake likely dumped there as an unwanted pet. The gator appeared lethargic and possibly cold shocked. Releasing animals in city parks is illegal. Police are investigating.

A 6-year-old Masai giraffe named Parker has died at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York. Animal Care Staff discovered Parker unresponsive, caught in a support structure for the giraffe enclosure gate.

According to Zoo Superintendent Steve Lacy, “The gate structure, installed in 2018, is a standard giraffe enclosure feature and is used in a number of accredited zoos around the country.”

An emu that escaped her enclosure at a private residence in Massachusetts led her owner and police on a chase through Brockton before she was captured. Her owner thinks a wild animal likely caused Mallory to jump over her six-foot fence. According to her owner, she was “terrified.”

An Andean bear named Ben escaped his enclosure at the Saint Louis Zoo this week. According to Billy Brennan, a zoo spokesman, the incident occurred outside operating hours and was resolved before the zoo opened to the public.

Ben escaped by manipulating the steel mash surrounding his outdoor habitat, which caused a cable to give way and allowed him to make his way out.

Luckily, zoo staff were able to tranquilize Ben and safely return him to his enclosure before more permanent and lethal alternative methods were used to protect the public safety of the zoo staff and surrounding community. During dangerous wild animal incidents, this is rarely the outcome.