February 24, 2003 Golconda, IL A 7-ft-tall, 500-lb black bear was on the loose. The bear voluntarily returned to his pen 15 days later. Bears
February 3, 2003 Jacksonville, FL Chad, a 450-pound Bengal tiger with the UniverSoul Circus, squeezed through an opening between his cage and a holding cage and escaped. Climbing over a car and over a fence, Chad startled a police officer and a drive-in worker at a nearby Wendy’s before circus workers were able to coax him back inside his cage. Hundreds of people witnessed Chad’s escape. Big Cats
January 31, 2003 Choctaw County, AL A deer gored a 79-year-old man to death while the man was working on a fence. The deer was the man’s “pet.” Other
January 27, 2003 Washington, DC A 9-year-old female pygmy hippopotamus died. A necropsy found pulmonary congestion and a buildup of fluid in the hippo’s lungs. Other
January 15, 2003 Fort Myers, FL A man was hospitalized and given 10 vials of antivenin after his “pet” cobra bit him in the stomach. Reptiles
January 15, 2003 Raceland, LA An escaped “pet” capuchin monkey was recaptured after spending the weekend running loose. Primates
January 11, 2003 Washington, DC Two red pandas were found dead the day after aluminum phosphide pellets, which mix with groundwater to form poison phosphine gas, were buried in their yard. This rat poison resulted in the accidental poisoning of the pandas. Bears
January 6, 2003 Miami, FL An exotic cat was found along a Florida highway. The cat’s possessor claimed the animal was stolen. Small Cats
January 4, 2003 Columbus, OH A Suphan cobra bit a zookeeper at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium while being fed a dead rat. The zookeeper, who had 20 years of experience handling reptiles, was reported in stable condition at a local hospital. Reptiles