Terry Thompson, Ohio Exotic Animal Owner, Wasn't Drunk Or On Drugs
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A final coroner's report shows an Ohio man who released dozens of wild animals and then killed himself had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/saaXlR ) that the findings released Wednesday also confirm that 62-year-old Terry Thompson died after he put a gun to the roof of his mouth and fired. And the report indicates he was bitten and clawed by large cats immediately after his Oct. 18 death on his property near Zanesville in eastern Ohio.
Sheriff's deputies were forced to kill 48 loose exotic animals, including bears, lions and endangered Bengal tigers.
Three leopards, two primates and a grizzly bear survived the big-game hunt and are now in the care of the Columbus zoo.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/terry-thompson-exotic-animal-owner_n_1164918.html?ref=weird-animals
Showing posts with label exotic animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exotic animals. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wild animals on loose from US park
Dozens of animals have escaped from a US wild animal preserve that houses bears, big cats and other beasts, and the owner later was found dead.
Officers shot several of the animals and urged nearby residents to stay indoors.
Fences had been left unsecured at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, east-central Ohio, and the animals' cages were open, police said.
They would not say what animals escaped but said the preserve had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. They said bears and wolves were among 25 escaped animals that had been shot and killed and there were multiple sightings of exotic animals along a nearby highway.
"These are wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Sheriff Matt Lutz warned.
He called the escaped animals "mature, very big, aggressive" but said a caretaker told authorities the preserve's 48 animals had been fed on Monday. He said police were patrolling the 40-acre farm and the surrounding areas in cars, not on foot, and were concerned about big cats and bears hiding in the dark and in trees.
Mr Lutz said four deputies with assault rifles in a pickup truck went to the animal farm, where they found the owner, Terry Thompson, dead and all the animal cage doors open. He wouldn't say how Mr Thompson died but said several aggressive animals were near his body when deputies arrived and had to be shot.
Mr Thompson, who lived on the property, had orangutans and chimps in his home, but those were still in their cages, Mr Lutz said.
The deputies, who saw many other animals standing outside their cages and others that had escaped past the fencing surrounding the property, began shooting them on sight. They said there had been no reports of injuries among the public.
Staff from Columbus Zoo went to the scene, hoping to tranquillise and capture the animals. The sheriff said caretakers might put food in the animals' open cages to try to lure them back.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Are they out there? Kent's big cat sightings revealed
by James Scott
More than 50 reports of escaped big cats and exotic animal sightings have been made to Kent Police in the past three years.
A Freedom of Information Act request by the Kentish Express reveals police have received 52 calls about dangerous wild animal sightings since January 2008.
These included wild boar on the loose near Ashford, an emu seen near Paddock Wood and a wolf sighting in Sturry near Canterbury.
Most reports were of large black cats, making up 15 of the sightings, followed by big cats with 10 sightings.
Other reports included four wild cats, three boars, two wolves, two lynx, two leopards, one cheetah, and an emu.
Police also recorded five hoax calls and two in which the animal was unknown. Someone reported a large orange cat on a roof in Maidstone town centre last July, but it turned out to be a fox.
There were also four reports of wild dogs, or dholes, in the days after a pack escaped from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury in February 2009.
Officers helped to find an escaped emu in the Brenchley and Horsmonden ward of Tunbridge Wells in June 2009, and guided two wild boar into a field in the Downs West ward of Ashford last August.
In the majority of cases, the police reported the sightings to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and local zoos but took no further action.
Police Freedom of Information administrator Laura Brenchley said officers only went to the scene if the animal posed a risk to members of the public.
“The police would attend an incident if a member of the public was injured or if the animal was a danger to members of the public,” she said.
“However, the majority of the calls were reports made some time after the sighting and therefore police attendance would not have been a practical use of police resources.”
“We work closely with external agencies such as the RSPCA as they are better equipped to deal with animals than the police.”
South Kent police received 12 reports about dangerous wild animals on the loose in the countryside.
These included wild boar and wild dogs on the loose in the Downs West ward of Ashford, and large black cats in Lydd and Weald Central, Ashford.
A large grey and white spotty cat was seen in the Lympne area and it was reported that a large black cat had killed five sheep in Sandgate.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011-1/july/23/are_they_out_there.aspx
More than 50 reports of escaped big cats and exotic animal sightings have been made to Kent Police in the past three years.
A Freedom of Information Act request by the Kentish Express reveals police have received 52 calls about dangerous wild animal sightings since January 2008.
These included wild boar on the loose near Ashford, an emu seen near Paddock Wood and a wolf sighting in Sturry near Canterbury.
Most reports were of large black cats, making up 15 of the sightings, followed by big cats with 10 sightings.
Other reports included four wild cats, three boars, two wolves, two lynx, two leopards, one cheetah, and an emu.
Police also recorded five hoax calls and two in which the animal was unknown. Someone reported a large orange cat on a roof in Maidstone town centre last July, but it turned out to be a fox.
There were also four reports of wild dogs, or dholes, in the days after a pack escaped from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury in February 2009.
Officers helped to find an escaped emu in the Brenchley and Horsmonden ward of Tunbridge Wells in June 2009, and guided two wild boar into a field in the Downs West ward of Ashford last August.
In the majority of cases, the police reported the sightings to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and local zoos but took no further action.
Police Freedom of Information administrator Laura Brenchley said officers only went to the scene if the animal posed a risk to members of the public.
“The police would attend an incident if a member of the public was injured or if the animal was a danger to members of the public,” she said.
“However, the majority of the calls were reports made some time after the sighting and therefore police attendance would not have been a practical use of police resources.”
“We work closely with external agencies such as the RSPCA as they are better equipped to deal with animals than the police.”
South Kent police received 12 reports about dangerous wild animals on the loose in the countryside.
These included wild boar and wild dogs on the loose in the Downs West ward of Ashford, and large black cats in Lydd and Weald Central, Ashford.
A large grey and white spotty cat was seen in the Lympne area and it was reported that a large black cat had killed five sheep in Sandgate.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011-1/july/23/are_they_out_there.aspx
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