Search Exotic Incidents Database

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO – A nearly 100-pound Sulcata tortoise named Lard managed to escape his home last month in Colorado before animal control was able to capture him.

Lard successfully freed himself from his fenced-in yard and started wandering around the neighborhood on Aug. 31. Someone reported Lard to the sheriff’s office and an animal control officer responded. The animal control officer and a bystander lifted him up and returned him safely.

MILWAUKEE, WI – A child entered an animal habitat at the Milwaukee County Zoo on Monday, Aug. 24, prompting staff to activate emergency protocols in the African Savanna Yard.

The zoo says a staff member saw the child inside the habitat and radioed for help. Those protocols included getting guests out of the area and moving the animals off the habitat.

Alleged cellphone video shared online appears to show the child chasing a bird before a relative climbs into the habitat and helps the child out using a ladder.

The zoo says pelicans, vultures, southern ground hornbills and gazelles are among the animals that call the African Savanna Yard home.

BALTIMORE, MD – The Maryland Zoo announced the death of Davis, its remaining male cheetah, following complications from chronic gastrointestinal issues.

Zoo officials said Davis was euthanized after his condition recently worsened despite intensive care from the zoo’s medical and animal-care teams.

He was nearly 12 years old. Davis had lived alone in his African Journey boardwalk habitat since the death of his brother, Bud, in 2023.

PORTAGE, WI – Four kangaroos escaped from a trailer on I-39 near Portage around noon on Aug. 23 after their owner stopped to transfer animals between vehicles.

Two of the kangaroos were hit by vehicles on the northbound on-ramp from WIS 78 to I-39 and did not survive, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol. The owner recovered one of the animals.

One kangaroo remains unaccounted for. The incident occurred at mile marker 85.

State Patrol is asking drivers not to stop on the interstate to look for the missing animal. Anyone who sees the kangaroo should report the sighting to law enforcement.

ST. LOUIS, MO – A man is in police custody after illegally entering an animal enclosure at the Saint Louis Zoo. The incident happened just before 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Big Cat Country, according to a zoo spokesman.

The man climbed over a fence and onto a barrier of artificial rockwork, just above the animal habitat. The habitat is home to Amur leopards, Amur tigers, and ocelots. Other zoo guests immediately alerted security. Members of zoo security and animal care staff arrived at the habitat within minutes. However, the man had already climbed back down and on the public walking path.

The man was not injured and the animals were unharmed, Brennan said. Zoo security took the man into custody and turned him over to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The zoo is investigating the matter to see if any modifications need to be made to prevent a similar incident from happening.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Philadelphia Zoo said goodbye to its last African lion, Makini, who died after a battle with advanced arthritis.

The Zoo announced Makini’s death on Friday, saying ever since the death of his longtime partner Tajiri, in November 2025, they have been closely monitoring his health. The zoo said Makini was euthanized after months of arthritis significantly affected his joints, along with recent significant signs of weakness and difficulty navigating.

Makini was born at the Tulsa Zoo and arrived in Philadelphia in 2011. He and his mate, Tajiri, welcomed four female cubs in June 2014. The cubs are no longer at the zoo.

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The San Antonio Zoo is mourning the loss of Epulu, a male okapi who had been at the Texas zoo since 2014.

Zoo officials said Epulu’s care team noticed signs of colic and a loss of appetite last week. Despite treatment, his condition worsened.

ASHEBORO, NC – A 12-year-old cougar at the North Carolina Zoo died after developing chronic kidney disease and age-related mobility problems that affected his quality of life, according to the zoo’s social media post. After consulting with animal care and veterinary teams, zoo officials decided to euthanize Heath since the animal’s quality of life was declining.

Heath and his sisters, Olive and Willow, arrived at the zoo in 2014 after being orphaned in the wild in Oregon.

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Zoo announced the death of a 35-year-old Abyssinian ground hornbill named Mark, who had been at the zoo since 1992.

The zoo said Mark suffered from age-related health issues that included heart disease.

TURNER, OR – Roughly 1,500 mink escaped an Oregon farm after a hole was cut in a fence — with an extremist animal rights group linking themselves to the plot to free the animals, according to authorities and reports.

The scores of minks were intentionally let loose from Cascade Farm in Turner late last Wednesday night as the farm’s manager, his wife, children, and other employees were sleeping, KOIN reported.

The Animal Liberation Front — a decentralized group of international animal rights advocates labeled as extremists by the FBI — appears to have taken responsibility for the break-in, the outlet reported.

The farm owners have since recovered about 90% of the cute, semiaquatic mammals, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet.