July 17, 2006 Ketchum, ID A 12-foot Burmese python named Houdini swallowed a queen-size electric blanket, along with the electrical cord and control box, that was wrapped around his cage for warmth. He had surgery to remove the blanket, and survived. Reptiles
July 16, 2006 Westmoreland County, PA A woman was mauled to death by her ‘pet” wolf-hybrid. She was found in the animal’s pen. Other
July 11, 2006 Hanover, OH A woman shot and killed two of her neighbor’s wolves and a sheriff killed a third wolf after they escaped from their pen and attacked one of the woman’s three dogs. Other
July 2, 2006 Roanoke, VA A Japanese macaque named Oops escaped from Mill Mountain Zoo, having let herself out when a zookeeper failed to lock the door while inside the enclosure for routine cleaning. The zoo was forced to close for the day to search for the missing monkey due to concerns for public safety. Oops was subsequently recovered one week later, having been spotted more than a mile away from the zoo. Primates
June 29, 2006 Bismarck, ND Startled by a dog, a wallaroo escaped from his pen and remained on the loose. Other
June 15, 2006 Dallas, TX A Bengal tiger escaped from his enclosure due to an electrical outage, and mauled a landscape worker at the Zoo Dynamics exotic animal facility. The man’s wounds required more than 2,000 stitches. Marcus Cook, owner of Zoo Dynamics, had previously been charged with multiple animal care and handling violations by the USDA, as well as being charged in a civil suit for alleged violations under his facility’s previous name, ZooCats, Inc. Animals from Zoo Dynamics were also involved in previous injury incidents. See 02/12/05. Big Cats
June 10, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Gita, a 48-year-old Asian elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, died in her enclosure. Activists protested her death outside the zoo, citing unnatural conditions at the zoo being responsible for her death. Elephants