December 9, 2002 Bradenton, FL A 15-inch-long alligator was reported missing from a local pet store. Reptiles
December 7, 2002 Los Angeles, CA A baby red-flanked duiker (African antelope) jumped its 4-foot nursery fence after being startled by a musical group at the Los Angeles Zoo. The animal was recaptured two days later on a nearby golf course. Other
December 2, 2002 Oak Cliff, TX A 6-year-old monkey escaped from his possessor and was loose in the neighborhood. He was recaptured later. Primates
December 2, 2002 N. Whidbey, WA A 3-ft-long iguana was found in an abandoned home. The animal was suffering from a metabolic bone disease and needed surgery. Reptiles
December 1, 2002 Rochester, NY Daisy, a 10-year-old, 15-foot, 105-pound Burmese python, freed herself from her cage at the Seneca Park Zoo during a Girl Scout sleepover in the zoo’s Discovery Center and slithered around the area. Reptiles
November 28, 2002 Washington, DC An 8-year-old cheetah named Bikita was euthanized due to chronic kidney failure. Big Cats
November 25, 2002 Niles Township, MI Three “pet” emus escaped from their home. One was recaptured but the other two were still on the loose. Other
November 21, 2002 Washington, DC Phoenix, a 23-year-old bobcat, was euthanized due to kidney problems. The pathology report after her death concluded that the kidneys were not at “end stage” but that she could not walk because her claws had grown into her paw pads. Small Cats
November 18, 2002 Pittsburgh, PA An 18-year-old female African elephant knocked her handler to the ground with her head and crushed him to death. The incident occurred at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium during a routine morning walk of the elephant and her 3-year-old baby on the zoo’s African Savannah trail before the zoo opened. Elephants
November 16, 2002 Wenatchee, WA A 1-year-old wolf-hybrid was recaptured after running loose and killing a neighbor’s chicken. He was scheduled to be put to death. Other