Escaped Animals Create Pandemonium

I'm sure many of you have already read or seen what happened in Zanesville, Ohio when a reclusive man who owned exotic animals released them and then shot himself.  62-year-old Terry Thompson had 56 animals - among them were Bengal tigers, Mountain lions, Grizzly bears, Monkeys and Leopards.  A wolf or two thrown into the mix as well.  Reports of wild animals on Interstate 70 and warning signs that said "Caution.  Exotic Animals" could be seen on the Ohio roadways.  It's like they unleashed a veritable Noah's Ark upon the populace.

My first thought was what would kids think if they saw their favorite animals on the road like that?  And later find out that police and sheriff's deputies had been forced to shoot these animals?  Can you imagine what they would draw?  I see hundreds of pictures of lions and tigers and bears (oh my) with X's for eyes and tongues lolling out of their gaping mouths.

We made jokes in the office that Ohio should advertise for hunters to come to their state and hunt these animals (for a nominal fee).  Just think...if you ever wanted to hunt a Bengal Tiger?  Well, now's your chance! 

But, all joking aside, it is disturbing that the state of Ohio allowed an unstable man like Thompson to own these animals in the first place.  Hopefully no people are hurt as officials try to track down the last exotic creature, a monkey.  Although I guess the worst thing that could happen, the monkey throws its poo at them.

Here's a link to the CNN article if you want to read more about this story:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/ohio-animals-on-loose/?hpt=us_c1