This one is pretty nuts.
51 wild animals (wild as in fully-grown grizzlies, lions and bengal tigers) were released from their cages around 6 p.m. Tuesday, forcing local police to cordon off a 7-mile radius around the animal preserve where the animals were originally being kept.
Veterinarians attempted to tranquilize some of the animals, with limited success. In one report, a bengal tiger apparently went berserk after being tranqed and police were forced to use lethal force against the 300+ pound cat.
It is believed that only a monkey and a wolf remain at large, all the other animals having been subdued, captured or killed. The owner of the Zanesville, Ohio preserve, Terry Thompson, was found dead on the property shortly after animal sightings were first reported. At this time, the unofficial cause of death is an apparent suicide.
This type of disastrous incident, an incident in which exotic animals are released into neighborhoods and police must hunt and kill them, was predicted by the movie "The Elephant in the Living Room", released in March, which chronicled the danger and utter stupidity of people "collecting" exotic animals and keeping them in preserves exactly like the Zanesville one.
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