Posted on 10/18/2011 10:40:45 PM PDT by TaraP
ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Several schools announced that they will not have school on Wednesday after exotic animals escaped a Muskingum County animal farm.
The schools are: Maysville Local Schools, Zanesville City Schools, Foxfire Community Schools and West Muskingum Local Schools.
Police said they had shot at least 25 of at least 48 escaped exotic animals on Tuesday night.
Terry Thompson, the owner of the farm, was found dead outside of his home on the animal farm property.
Police said the fences had been left unsecured.
According to police, the animals escaped at about 6 p.m. from an animal farm near Kopchak Road.
Police would not comment on what animals escaped but said the animal farm did have lions, wolves, cheetahs, tigers, giraffes, camels, grizzly bears and black bears.
“It’s been a bad situation for a long time and the last thing we want to do is to have any of our public hurt,” said Muskingum Sheriff Matt Lutz. “No young kids should go outside tonight.”
According to police, bears and wolves had been shot and killed.
There were multiple sightings of exotic animals along Interstate 70, police said.
Muskingum Sheriff Matt Lutz said resident safety is his primary concern.
A fairly detailed report said he did open the cages, damaged them so they could not be used again, and shot himself. No suicide note found, motive not clear. Most animals killed, some caught. A local zoo wants the animals that are loose and alive, sending hunters. Said still loose were a puma, grizzly, and monkey. Later report said only 2 animals still free. They”ll probably get the grizzly, the puma might make it.
Regarding Cheetahs, so many have been killed that their gene pool has been weakened. The Florida panther (puma) has the same problem. Spetznaz, in the bushman movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy, they said that holding something above your head to look very tall/big helped to prevent attacks by big cats.
Seven o’clock news, the monkey and a wolf are still loose. The Cincinnati Zoo recommends shooting the monkey as it may be carrying the Herpes B virus.
The latest is all that’s left running around is the macacque, which is carrying Herpes B.
The 11 o’clock news (EDT) had a lot on people being upset at all those animals being killed. Apparently, the Bengal tigers are endangered, and they killed 18 of them. This guy had just gotten out of a year in jail. Why don’t they have a law against crimanals having the right to keep dangerous animals, are they allowed to keep dangerous weapons? Was this guy using these animals as a weapon against society? I imagine we will hear a lot more on this story.
Ohio is one of the few states with no regulations. That will not be the case within a month, I guarantee it. Jack Hanna has a meeting with Governor Kasich later today. That’s how big an impact this incident has had.
They think they’ve accounted for the macaque. One of the big cats apparently ate it.
However, let me turn that on it's head a bit. In two ways.
The first is that big cats will normally attack animals that are larger. For instance favorite prey for lions includes cape buffalo (and a cape buffalo is not only a large buster but it is also the second meanest animal I know of - with the meanest being the hippo, which is the one animal I am scared to death of, long story, and also the mammal that kills the most people). Lions take down buffalo all the time, and there is one pride of lions that specializes in elephant (yes, you read that right). Thus a human being raising their hands high to fend off a lion attack by appearing larger BETTER be praying hard while doing that.
My second point regards whether the lion was startled, whether it was actively stalking you, whether you just interrupted an afternoon nap, whether it is a lioness with cubs, whether it is a maneater, etc. Very many variables, down to even the time of day or whether it is in a foul mood because of biting flies ....etc etc etc. If the lion is a maneater then you're sh!t out of luck, because it will be after you, has most probably experienced firearms and thus knows what NOT to do, and your survival chances are low (maneaters are hard to kill since they seem to almost think). If it is an opportunistic lion then it may work (in India some workers fishing around mangrove swamps in one area wear masks with painted on faces at the back of their heads since many tiger attacks occur from the back - this simple strategy has stopped some attacks, but it only works against opportunistic tigers - against a TRUE maneater it will do absolutely nothig). In Africa maneaters have been known to walk through herds of sheep just to get to the person in the middle (in the olden days people would stay near their flocks), and if you want to read an interesting story read the true tale of the Man Eaters of Tsavo (two lions in Kenya that were simply making a mockery of British attempts to kill them. Reading that, as well as similar stories about killer tigers in India and Leopards on both continents, will make you see what I mean about maneaters being able to actually PLAN. I know that sounds silly and 'supertitious' rambling from Africa and India, but order the book from Amazon or check it out from the net, and you tell me that is not planning from an animal! Actually, go to YouTube and see how a pride of lions coordinates an attack on buffalo where, after a series of growls to each other, the pride will split with one or two driving the herd towards the main team that is waiting in ambush, with several targets in the herd selected). Anyways, if it is a maneater you can make yourself 10 feet tall and it will still kill you and eat you (most people don't ever think about being eaten lol).
Anyways, it CAN work and if you ever find yourself in that unfortunate situation (that you need to use it) try it. It will probably work. However, if it is a maneater (or a lion that is either very hungry or protecting cubs) you are dead. :)
The reason the guy "had a prison record" is because he had a mistaken notion that the original intent of the Founders was that peasants could have the same weaponry as the military...
They threw the guy in jail because he had "machine guns" and "a sniper rifle".
Thank you for your detailed explanation. At 73, it is unlikely that if I ever get to Africa I will be out where the lions roam. Here is a real story about an encounter with a black bear in an Adirondack Park camp site.
I and my husband, 2 children 3 and 6, and another couple were camping and cooking dinner at one table and fireplace. Our food was in bags at another table. The night before we had cut branches from two small pine trees for kindling. Suddenly my husband yelled, “Hey, that’s our food.” As I looked up he grabbed the large pine trunk and started after the large black bear that was trotting off with a food bag in his mouth. The other man picked up the other pine trunk and followed him. I thrust the children toward the other woman and told her to take them in the other direction. I ran to the car and pulled out a 38 hidden inside and ran toward the men and bear while thinking very hard about what I would do if it had my husband in its grasp. I decided I would run up and put a bullet in its ear to avoid hitting my husband or merely wounding the bear and making it mad. Fortunately, the bear dropped the bag and ran off.
That night I slept in the tent with the gun under my pillow. Early dawn I heard yelling from the next camp site where people had camped after we went to bed. A man was yelling, “Get out of here, this is my place.” We went back to sleep and they were gone when we got up. The mosquito screen around their picnic table had been ripped to shreds and left behind. That day the Ranger told us this was Napper, who was just a Yogi type bear and not to worry.
NOTE, never leave food in tent or not locked in car when camping. Out west, I hear grizzlies can even break into cars and trailers.
The latest report is that the decision was made to kill the animals because it would be dark soon, and impossible to hunt with tranquilizer guns. Also the wife loved the animals and begged the authorities not to shoot the ones still in cages. I suspect the husband did what he did to hurt the wife who had left him.
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