Zoos are wonderful places to visit and expereince unique animals, but sometimes terrible accidents happen. These terrible zoo accidents will leave you shocked and make you wonder how in the world they happened.
Don’t Get Drunk And Feed The Pandas
“35 year old named Zhang Xinyan, who was drunk, jumped into the panda enclosure to cuddle with 240lb Gu Gu. Xinyan was bitten on the legs. At another time a zoo visitor, a boy named Li Xitao, encountered Gu Gu at feeding time. Li had chunks of flesh torn from his legs causing bone to show.“
Not A Christmas You Want To Remember
“Tatiana the Siberian tiger managed to escape from her exhibit attacking three visitors at San Francisco Zoo, killing one, on Christmas Day 2007. Tatiana’s exhibit was surrounded by a six meter high wall and plus moat. She also attacked two others before she was shot by police.“
Circuses Are Not The Best For Animals
“Mila, a 39 year old African elephant and former circus performer had been staying at the Franklin Zoo in New Zealand for 4 years. Zoo owner Helen Schofield had plans to transfer her to a sanctuary in California because of trauma suffered in the circus. However, before she could, Schofield entered the elephant enclosure and was crushed with Mila’s trunk.“
African Wild Dogs Are Named That Way For A Reason
“African Wild Dogs are known for destroying their prey. On the morning of November 4th, 2012, a 2-year old named Maddock Derkosh tumbled into the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Painted Dog Bush Camp exhibit landing on some protective netting and then bouncing into the exhibit. Three dogs immediately went to him and started attacking Derkosh in the head and torso. Zoo workers were able to get most of the animals away from him, but one of the dogs refused to leave the body and police opened fire killing the dog. It was learned after that Maddock survived the fall, but was killed by the attack.“
That’s Not The Way To Go Out
“At a Chilean zoo, a man disrobed, climbed into the lion enclosure and started taunting the lions. Zoo Officials were forced to kill the two lions in order to save the man. The police later found a suicide note with his clothes.”
Binky The Polar Bear Doesn’t Like Photos@@@
“Australian tourist Kathryn Warburton climbed two safety fences to get a photo of Binky, a 1,200 lb polar bear. The bear promptly stuck his head through the bars of the cage, grabbing her. Warburton suffered lacerations and a broken leg. Zoo visitors hit Binky with branches, causing him to lose his hold.“
Jabari The Gorilla Doesn’t Like Being Taunted
“Jabari, a 13 year old western lowland gorilla, was in an enclosure surrounded by 16 foot concave walls. Jabari was taunted by some kids and managed to scale those walls and started a rampage. Jabari, who was over 300 lb., attacked four people, including 26 year old Keisha Heard and her 3 year old son Rivers. Jabari put the child into his mouth, gnawing on his head and chest. Everyone survived but Jabari was shot by the SWAT team after he started charging towards them.“
Melody the Malayan Tapir Is A Protective Mother
“On the morning of 27 November 1998, zookeeper Lisa Morehead was feeding a Malayan tapir named Melody, a new mother, when the tapir bit her left arm. Morehead fought back, suffering facial lacerations, and internal injuries including a punctured lung, Her arm was torn off at the mid-bicep.“
Private Zoos Aren’t Safe Either
“Former Vietnam War veteran Terry Thompson, 61, owned a huge private menagerie in Zanesville, Ohio, in the USA called Muskingum County Animal Farm. In October 2011, he suddenly freed all 55 animals to escape from the zoo before shooting himself. Bears and tigers ran towards residential houses, wolves headed for the motorways, while a monkey was killed by a lion during the chaos. Local police feared for the safety of the resident of Zanesville and opened fire on the animals, killing 49, some of which were greatly endangered. A total of 18 Bengal tigers, 17 lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two wolves, two grizzly bears and a baboon were slaughtered.”
Tilkum The Killer Whale Plays Rough
“Tilkum, a 12,000 lb. trained killer whale at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada was so large that handlers were barred from entering the water with him. In 1991, a young trainer named Keltie Byrne fell into the tank with Tilikum and two other whales. The three whales seemed to play with Byrne until she drowned.“
Nyanga The Lion Doesn’t Want Anyone In Her Enclosure
“In the Johannesburg Zoo, a worker named Joe Ramonetha entered the lion enclosure’s hallway which the animals can’t normally access. However, Joe encountered a lion named Nyanga. Nyanga bit through Ramonetha’s neck, killing him. However, Nyanga didn’t get killed; she was sent to a sanctuary shortly thereafter.“
Mandy You Can’t Play With The Polar Bears@@@
“In April 2009, a woman named Mandy scaled the safety walls of the polar bear enclosure at Berlin Zoo in Germany. She jumped into the water and started swimming across to play with four of the bears. One of the polar bears submerged itself in the water and bit her back and rear end. She was saved by zookeepers via safety ropes.“
Be Careful Around Wolves
“Wildlife biologist Trisha Wyman, was a caretaker of four animals in the Wolves Exhibit. After just her third day at work she was killed. Her body was found by zoo employees, who spotted her in the middle of the enclosure.“
Your Phone Isn’t That Important
“In September 2007 at the Fuzhou Zoo a visitor tried to take a photo of the Assamese Macaque Monkeys. The man was trying to get a picture of the monkeys through the cage of the zoo when one of them grabbed the device from his hand and started eating it. The visitor wanted to get his phone back so climbed over the safety railing. The three now angry monkeys to jumped on him scratching his back, arms and face.”
That’s A Rough Fall
“David M. Villalobos, a 25-year-old real estate agent, jumped from a moving monorail at the Bronx Zoo in New York into the cage of a 400-pound tiger. He wasn’t trying to kill himself, he just wanted to be with the tigers. He posted a bunch of pictures of tigers on his Facebook page the day before so I guess the next logical step for him was to jump into a cage to chill with one of the tigers. Villalobos broke his ribs, pelvis, and wrist in the fall, and then suffered deep scratches and bruises from the tiger. The tiger was unharmed.“
Don’t Get Drunk And Feed The Bears
“Tracy Weiler decided to get drunk with her boyfriend and bring her three-year-old child to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Manitowoc, WI. Weiler thought the bears weren’t getting enough food and wanted to feed them. She extended her food to the bears, but the bears weren’t interested in her food and instead ate her fingers. The boyfriend tried to intervene and was bitten, but didn’t lose any fingers.“
Don’t Go To The Zoo At Night
“Trevor James Wearmouth and Thomas Anthony Bryce-Hart, both 27, went to visit their friend (without letting him know) who worked at the zoo at night. The two men scaled an 8-foot-tall barbed wire fence to get into the Calgary Zoo. Then instead of going to visit their friend they decided to go pet the tigers. One of the guys climbed the fence into the tiger enclosure and tried to offer his hand to Vitali, a Serbian tiger. Vitali instead mauled the guy and dragged him by the arm around the cage until the other friend jumped in and pulled the guy to safety. They then called their friend who called for help. Both men survived and were fined for trespassing. Vitali the lion continued to live at the zoo.“