Search Exotic Incidents Database

Des Moines, Iowa — An employee at Blue Zoo in West Des Moines was bitten by a shark Monday afternoon. According to the West Des Moines Fire Department, an employee was inside of a tank and performing regular caretaking duties when they were bitten by a 18-inch long bamboo shark. The employee was transported to a Des Moines hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

According to a statement from the zoo: the shark “became startled and latched onto the skin of [the caregiver’s] hand between her thumb and forefinger and refused to release. The team made multiple attempts to pry the shark’s mouth open, but the Bamboo Shark’s teeth, similar to small hooks, made it difficult. Consequently, management decided to call emergency responders. Despite their efforts, the EMTs were also unable to open the shark’s mouth, leading to the humane euthanasia of the shark.”

Oklahoma City, OK – The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden shared that one of their Asian elephants, Asha, went into premature labor on July 20 at almost 13 months pregnant, resulting in the miscarriage of her stillborn calf on July 21.

The OKC Zoo said that this was Asha’s fifth pregnancy. The zoo confirmed that Asha is back to her normal routine, and has been reunited with her family group. The Zoo veterinarian stated that following Asha’s miscarriage, caregivers gave her time to be with her calf and let her say goodbye.

Calgary, Alberta, CANADA – Necropsy results of Friday’s polar bear death just released by the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo confirm that 7-year-old male polar bear ‘Baffin’ died by drowning, following a crushing injury to his trachea by 8-year-old male polar bear, ‘Siku’, sustained during rough play. It is presumed that Baffin lost consciousness underwater due to the tracheal injury and subsequently drowned. The necropsy also confirmed that Baffin was in excellent physical condition and there was no evidence of heat-related stress (hyperthermia).

Baffin was rescued as an orphaned cub when he was less than a year old and brought to the Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre at Assiniboine Park Zoo (APZ) in December 2017. He was eventually introduced to the other polar bears at APZ and lived in APZ’s Journey to Churchill habitat until last fall, when he and Siku, who was rescued as an orphaned cub in 2016, were transferred to the Taylor Family Foundation Polar Bear Sanctuary.

Baffin and Siku were long-term enclosure mates prior to the incident.

Old Saybrook, CT – An Old Saybrook resident made a startling discovery in his shed last night. “I didn’t know if I was going to be attacked or what,” O’Connell said. “It just looked crazy.” At first, O’Connell said he thought the animal he discovered in his shed was a bat and then realized it was a small monkey.

“It’s probably some species of marmoset,” said Jenny Dickson, the wildlife division director for the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “We’re still working on the exact identification of the species.”

The man who owned the monkey came forward and helped Environmental Conservation Police Officers capture it. The police have taken possession of the monkey and are conducting an investigation.

Limestone, TN – Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee is mourning the death of a 7-year-old sitatunga (a rare African antelope) named Lief. A guest at the zoo snuck in a banned item, a squeezable fruit pouch with a plastic cap. Somehow the cap ended up in the antelope’s enclosure, and the curious animal choked on it after trying to eat it.

Brights Zoo posted to Facebook on Saturday, June 9th with a short explanation of why these fruit pouches are banned, “The reason is simple – the packaging is dangerous to our animals. Today we lost a beloved animal due to choking.” The Zoo went on to explain that to animals, the red caps look like food, and while the Zoo does bag searches, guests found a way to sneak this banned item in.

Sandusky, OH – Two camels from a petting zoo area at the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio got loose and escaped from their enclosure at “The Barnyard” and roamed up and down the walkway near the park’s Millennium Force rollercoaster. Several videos of the camels went viral, showing them strolling across the park and approaching several ride-goers. Some videos show the animals nearly kicking a person in a motorized wheelchair. Luckily, no one was hurt. The animals were quickly returned to their enclosures after their escape.