January 1, 1995 Colorado Springs, CO A 4-ft-long python, Creeper, wrapped himself around the spindles of a 1-year-old girl’s crib. Creeper had apparently slipped into the girl’s room through a hole in the apartment wall. Creeper’s possessor lived next door. Police captured the snake and place him in a box in the back seat of a patrol car. Creeper escaped box and was nowhere to be found. Police later found the snake dead in the police car. Reptiles
December 29, 1994 Scottsbluff, NE A leopard attacked a zookeeper at the Riverside Zoo, causing serious injuries to the woman’s throat, face, and chest. Big Cats
October 11, 1994 San Diego, CA San Diego Zoo animal trainer Joan Embery suffered deep gashes on her face while exhibiting a cheetah on a television show. Big Cats
October 10, 1994 Riley County, KS A 3-year-old girl trying to feed an elephant named Mickey with King Royal Circus was grabbed around the neck by the elephant, causing minor injuries. This elephant had been severely beaten by his trainer a month before. Elephants
September 17, 1994 Lebanon, OR Mickey, a young Asian elephant, was forced to the ground screaming when his trainer, Bela Tabak, beat him for refusing to do a trick and attempting to flea. The USDA penalized Tabak by suspending his right to handle elephants for 5 years. Elephants
September 6, 1994 Kansas City, MO A “pet” chimpanzee, Sueko, bit a 7-year-old girl, causing her to undergo rabies treatments. The chimpanzee had a history of getting loose and biting people, and her possessor had a history of using an electrical collar as a punitive device, which left scars on Sueko’s neck. Primates
August 20, 1994 Honolulu, HI Tyke, an elephant with Circus International, killed her trainer, injured a circus groom and a dozen spectators, and rampaged through the city before she was shot to death by police. Elephants
August 4, 1994 Laie, HI An elephant with Circus International knocked down a metal barrier at the arena, pinning a family to the bleachers. Elephants
July 18, 1994 New York, NY An elephant with the Moscow Circus attacked the translator offstage at ABC’s Live with Regis and Kathie Lee television show. The woman suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Elephants
June 30, 1994 Louisville, KY An elephant used for giving rides at the Louisville Zoological Gardens escaped by unlatching the gate and then attacked a zoo visitor. The man suffered serious injuries to his spleen and pancreas when the elephant picked him up and dropped him several times. Elephants