Update II: Authorities now say as many as 51 animals were loose and 43-44 of them have been recovered.
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Update: The Sheriff this morning says they believe Thompson opened the gates to free the animals and then shot himself. (NewsNet5)
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The latest updates from Zanesville streaming in this morning have 31 of the 48 escaped exotic animals — lions, tigers, wolves, cheetahs, bears, giraffes, and more — shot and accounted for after last night’s jailbreak. The whole situation leaves officials saying unforgettable sound bites like this: “We don’t know how much of a head start these animals have on us.” That’s a real quote.
Like something out of a movie, the small Ohio town, home to an exotic animal farm run by Terry Thompson, has been on red alert overnight and into the morning with schools closed down, roadside signs warning of dangerous animals, and authorities telling folks to stay indoors after Thompson was found dead and 48 of his animals walked through their open gates and into society.
A press conference from Muskingum County is expected at 10 a.m. So far, no details on the death of Thompson, who had a host of problems with authorities stemming from his little zoo before.
Eyes of the nation, as well as the jokes of the nation, are now on the central Ohio town as SWAT teams armed with night vision and rifles and Columbus Zoo personnel continue their search. In the meantime, those in charge are urging citizens to — no lie — stay safe by posting on Twitter. We have a feeling residents will be picking up guns and not their smartphones, but whatever.
Speaking of Twitter, all the escaped exotic animals have fake Twitter accounts, naturally. Follow along with @ZanesvilleLion, @ZanesvilleWolf, and @ZanesvilleBear.
Video from local TV coverage from Channel 10 with an interview with Jack Hanna after the jump.
This article appears in Oct 12-18, 2011.
Meanwhile, the wife of Governor Kasich crony Jai Chabria — his former Lehman Brothers partner for whom he created a previously nonexistent taxpayer-funded job — has called the sheriff’s officers “morons” for shooting the animals. While it’s tragic and depressing, I wonder who the “moron’ would be if one of these animals had killed someone?
What was this guy thinking setting all those animals loose before offing himself? If he really loved animals he should have just let them be so maybe they could have been placed in a zoo or a real preserve. While not perfect, it would be better than some bullsh*t “exotic animal farm”. Instead, he “freed” them, and gave them all a damn death sentence.
OMG! THERE’S THE LION! HE’S COMING RIGHT FO……
jen41-Exactly!Extremely mean thing to do.
abba- Jai Chabria and Kasich and the rest of these grifters all hate the cops because they’re all dreading the day they finally get busted.Let’s make sure that it happens ASAP.