Around 50 exotic animals, including bears, tigers, lions, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, and camels, escaped from their enclosures Tuesday at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, Ohio. Their owner, Terry Thompson, was found dead and the animals' cage doors were opened. Zanesville's mayor tells CNN that Thompson had released the animals before shooting himself, but authorities would not confirm this. Around 43 of the animals have been killed, but a SWAT team armed with assault weapons are searching for those that remain at large.
Authorities say that the escaped animals were running around the interstate, and at least one cat was hit by a car. Others were shot "at close range" by police officers. "We cannot have animals running loose in the county," the sheriff Matt Lutz told the AP, and Lutz described those that escaped as "mature, very big, aggressive," but they had in fact been fed on Monday.
TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo Jack Hanna is on the scene as well, assisting the sheriff to tranquilize the remaining animals when possible. "We're trying our best to make sure no one is hurt doing this," Hanna said. He added, "If you see one of these animals, you do not run. You yell and scream. Ninety percent of the time, it will run. You cannot run from it. It doesn't see you as a human. It sees you as something fleeing, or something to play with … take it down. That's one thing you don't do is run. Call the sheriff," and wants to meet with Governor John Kasich about exotic animal laws (Ohio is home to many exotic animal farms and has welcomed some illegal tigers from New York City).
Local schools are closed, and residents have been advised to "stay inside." A neighbor to Thompson's property said, "It's always been a fear of mine knowing Thompson had all those animals. I have kids. I've heard a male lion roar at night."
