December 17, 2001 New Orleans, LA Police were on the lookout for three poisonous snakes stolen from an apartment on New Years Eve. Reptiles
December 10, 2001 West Haven, CT A 25-year-old man was bitten by his poisonous “pet” cobra snake. Man was hospitalized for several days while undergoing antivenintreatment. Surgery might be necessary to repair the damage done by the venom. Reptiles
December 9, 2001 Gaithersburg, MD A 6-ft-long “pet” boa constrictor was recovered from a neighbor’s basement several weeks after it was reported missing from its aquarium. Reptiles
December 6, 2001 Davie, FL A 7-year-old boy was taken to the hospital for stitches after being attacked and bitten “bone-deep” on his neck by a 40-lb declawed African serval at the PepsiCo International picnic. The child was walking by when an unattended serval leaped on him and knocked him to the ground. Pangaea Productions was hired to bring the serval and other animals to the event as entertainment. Small Cats
December 2, 2001 Bloomington, IL A 32-year-old visitor at the Miller Park Zoo climbed a 4-foot fence to pet a snow leopard. The leopard swiped at the visitor and punctured the skin of the left hand. Zoo staff tracked the trail of blood to the victim who declined to go to the hospital. Big Cats
December 1, 2001 Forsyth County, NC A 6-year-old child was in danger of losing her leg due to an attack by two “pet” wolves or wolf-hybrids. Other
December 1, 2001 Oak Harbor, WA An exotic “pet” serval cat and two “pet” emus were presumably loose on Whidbey Island after the house they resided in burned in an early morning fire. Small CatsOther
November 28, 2001 South Bend, IN A “pet” wolf hybrid was recaptured without incident and turned over to the Humane Society. Other
November 23, 2001 San Diego, CA An 18-month-old “pet” zebra was killed after it escaped and ran onto a suburban highway where it was struck by a vehicle driven by a 70-year-old man. Other
October 27, 2001 Charlotte, NC Two elephants leased by the Hawthorn Corporation to Circus Vazquez rampaged through a church. Two church members were nearly trampled, and children were quickly ushered to safety. The elephants crashed into the church through a glass window, broke and buckled walls and door frames, and knocked a car 15 feet, causing an estimated $75,000 in damages. The elephants suffered cuts and bruises. One of the elephants had rampaged twice before (see 07/10/95 and 05/19/95). Elephants