Dozens of "exotic" wild animals released in Ohio

**jmur5074** · 10-19-11, 12:08 AM

Dozens of animals -- including bears, lions, tigers, cheetahs and wolves -- are on the prowl in eastern Ohio, authorities said Tuesday night.

Area residents were urged to stay indoors until all the animals had been controlled. Authorities were "shooting to kill," said Muskingum County Sheriff Matthew J. Lutz. Forty-eight had been freed, and as of 8:40 p.m. ET, about two dozen had been shot, Lutz said.

More at the link:
Public warned about freed wildlife - CNN.com

**jmur5074** · 10-19-11, 12:10 AM

A more detailed article on it:

Schools Close After Animals Escape Muskingum Co. Exotic Animal Farm | WBNS-10TV

**pgg** · 10-19-11, 01:33 AM

Its like a safari with out the travel expense

**Pudge** · 10-19-11, 06:43 AM

Yeah...friggin brilliant.

**Buttercup** · 10-19-11, 09:11 AM

Ohio. That's all I have to say.

I hope that no one is injured.

**Jenna** · 10-19-11, 09:18 AM

**jmur5074** · 10-19-11, 12:02 PM

I do feel bad for the animals. They're in a terrible spot. Just being animals, and they're gonna be/already have been killed for it.

**copboy** · 10-19-11, 01:36 PM

The media here has avoided saying "Lions and Tigers, and Bears". I do think it is big that Jack Hanna is backing the Sheriff and his orders to shoot to kill. All too often in situations the big celeb comes in and tries to undermine the man in charge be it the Sheriff, Police Chief , or Chief Glory Chasing Hose Monkey, yet Hanna came in and made it very clear that he is there to help and give any support that the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds ( exotic animal park near by loosely connected to the Zoo) could provide to the Sheriffs Office.

**Pudge** · 10-19-11, 01:40 PM

According to the brief Tv news I caught at lunch. The owner released all of the animals before committing suicide. Same news anchor reports that the first responding deputy was attacked by a bear and managed to get back to his cruiser before shooting the bear.

Officers in the mostly rural area about 55 miles east of Columbus were under orders to shoot to kill for fear that animals hit with tranquilizer darts would run off and hide in the darkness.
The owner of the preserve, Terry Thompson, left the cages open and the fences unsecured, releasing dozens of animals, including lions, tigers, bears and wolves, before committing suicide, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.
Authorities would not say how he killed himself and no suicide note was found. Lutz wouldn't speculate on why he committed suicide. But Thompson had had repeated run-ins with the law, and Lutz said the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals at the property.
"This is a bad situation," the sheriff said. "It's been a situation for a long time."
Hanna said that of the three animals believed to be unaccounted for, he was most concerned about the mountain lion, because of its impressive leaping ability. He said anyone confronting these animals should not run, because they will give chase.
Hanna defended the sheriff against criticism that the animals should have been captured alive.
"What was he to do at nighttime with tigers and lions, leopards, going out there?" Hanna said. "In the wild this would be a different situation."
The preserve in Zanesville had lions, tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and bears. Lutz called the animals "mature, very big, aggressive" but said a caretaker told authorities they had been fed on Monday.

Read more: Sheriff: Exotic animal farm owner killed self

**Jenna** · 10-19-11, 03:01 PM

I hope everyone stays safe.

**Pudge** · 10-19-11, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by copboy

Hanna came in and made it very clear that he is there to help and give any support that the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds ( exotic animal park near by loosely connected to the Zoo) could provide to the Sheriffs Office.

So it's not actually at The Wilds? I had heard several times that it was.

**jmur5074** · 10-19-11, 06:41 PM

Just found this on facebook:

While it sincerely was necessary...it's still very sad it had to happen.

**Five-0** · 10-19-11, 07:47 PM

What did the dumbass that committed suicide think was going to happen? You don't go looking for a 500-700lb tiger saying here kitty kitty. Unfortunate but necessary, just like a lot of things with this job.

**Ducky** · 10-19-11, 09:53 PM

The Bengal tigers are a huge loss. The news here said 18 of them had been killed, and there are less than 3000 left in the world, including those in captivity. One man's idiocy cost all these animals their lives.

**Pudge** · 10-19-11, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by Ducky

The Bengal tigers are a huge loss. The news here said 18 of them had been killed, and there are less than 3000 left in the world, including those in captivity. One man's idiocy cost all these animals their lives.

Exactly. Yet social networking and article feedback is filled with comments from people slamming LE for not tranquilizing and capturing them.....yeeeeeeeeah. No.

**jmur5074** · 10-19-11, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by Pudge

Exactly. Yet social networking and article feedback is filled with comments from people slamming LE for not tranquilizing and capturing them.....yeeeeeeeeah. No.

From what I heard from Jack Hannah, tranquilizing is possible during the day. But because this primarily happened in the evening/overnight, tranquilizing them wasn't possible. When the animal gets hit with a dart, they run and hide. Then you're looking for a scared animal in the dark and rain...an even worse scenario than looking for one when the sun is up.

They were able to tranq and capture I think 5 animals...not sure what they were though. And they obviously weren't able to do it until the morning.

Either way, the only person to fault in this whole thing is the owner. LE, the zoo people, the animals, are all victims of this dumbass' poor decisions.