April 8, 2009 Calhan, CO According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an infant bear died from distemper. Bears
March 30, 2009 Winston, MO Timmy, a 9-year-old chimpanzee, was shot to death after reportedly opening the door of a police car and attempting to attack the officer. Timmy had escaped from his possessor. Authorities checked the home and found 3 monkeys and more than 200 dogs. The Humane Society returned later with a search warrant to find all but 2 cats and 15 dogs. A reward was offered for information about the missing animals. Three people were arrested and charged. PrimatesOther
March 27, 2009 Lee County, FL Two 4-year-old mountain lions were removed from a Lehigh Acres residence and placed with Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs. The possessor agreed to relinquish them to avoid arrest. One cat was underweight and had parasites and the other needed surgery to treat injuries. Big Cats
March 22, 2009 South Windsor, CT A 3-1/2-ft-long alligator was discovered by police in a marshy area along the banks of the Connecticut River. Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection snared the alligator and placed him with Massachusetts-based Rainforest Reptiles Shows. Reptiles
March 20, 2009 Oakley, KS One male and two female lions once kept inside a junkyard-like enclosure were moved to the Detroit Zoo. Their possessor agreed to turn them over to Thomas County Sheriff’s office after one of the cats mauled a man earlier last month. All three lions were checked out by a vet and remained in quarantine at the Detroit Zoo for 30 days, eventually introduced to the zoo’s other lions. Big Cats
March 17, 2009 Orlando, FL Tumpe, a 24-year-old female African elephant, died Tuesday at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She had been suffering from skin sores and gastrointestinal problems for the past two months. Tumpe is the third elephant to die at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The park still has 12 elephants. Elephants
March 10, 2009 Calhan, CO According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a zookeeper failed to handle infant bears with sufficient care. They fed the bears with a bottle in such a manner that both developed aspiration pneumonia from inhaling milk into their lungs, which caused the death of one of the bears. Bears
March 8, 2009 Winston, OR A 23-year-old female employee of Wildlife Safari remained in serious condition at Mercy Medical Center after being attacked by a black bear she was attempting to feed. The employee hit the bear with a cattle prod and the angered animal then knocked the woman to the ground, inflicting large lacerations on her right thigh and hand. Bears
March 8, 2009 Stamford, CT A man with a history of improper care and control of both exotic and domestic animals was cited for illegally possessing an endangered Siamang Gibbon. Primates
March 7, 2009 Indianapolis, IN Fifteen childen, ranging in age from 8 to 12, suffered bumps and scrapes when the elephant giving rides they were waiting to ride became startled and knocked down a scaffolding stairway on which they were waiting. The incident took place during a performance of the Murat Shrine Circus. Elephants