Heavily armed cops hunted down the few remaining wild animals that terrorized an Ohio town after they were let loose by the suicidal owner of an animal preserve.
The only animals believed to still be at large are a wolf and a monkey, Zanesville police said today.
A grizzly bear and a mountain lion had been believed to be running free, but the sheriff's department discovered both were killed last night.
Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz told reporters he can't be 100 percent sure that those animals are the only ones unaccounted for among the 51 animals, many of them ferocious, who were let out of their cages Tuesday evening.
Lutz and ABC News' wildlife expert Jack Hanna, who will take the living animals at the preserve to the Columbus Zoo, urged the public to remain cautious.
The sheriff said that when his men arrived at the animal preserve in Zanesville, they found grizzly bears, lions, Bengal tigers, black bears and leopards roaming the area. Since it was about to get dark, he feared the animals would escape into the night.
He said his deputies had to kill animals at close range with their sidearms.
"These are 300 pound Bengal tigers that we had to put down," Lutz said, describing that animal as "very aggressive."
A vet shot a tiger with a tranquilizer from 15 yards away and Lutz said it "just went crazy," and started to run, so officers were forced to shoot it with lethal ammunition.
One animal that got away, described as a big cat, was hit by a car on a highway some distance away, he said. An escaped monkey was eaten by one of the lions.
The animals' cages were opened up by Terry Thompson, who owned an animal preserve in Zanesville. Thompson killed himself after freeing his menagerie, Lutz said.
"We feel that Mr. Thompson died from a self-inflicted wound. We also feel he had released these animals at some point. Not only were the gates open but some of the pins were open," Lutz said.
Hanna said he "can see this happening," based on his knowledge about the animal world.
"The guy was depressed and he loved the animals that much, maybe," Hanna said.
Thompson's wife has spoken to authorities and is arriving today to talk the Sherriff's department "about the existing animals," Lutz said.
Thompson, 61, was recently released from prison after serving one year on federal weapons charges. According to investigators he has been cited in the past for animal abuse and neglect.
Hanna and his vets visited the farm today, calling conditions deplorable. He plans to take all five living animals to the Columbus Zoo.
Lutz said at a news conference that residents should stay inside until the animals, which escaped around 6 p.m. Tuesday, are rounded up. Several schools across the area have cancelled classes for today.
Police, who have been ordered to shoot to kill, describe the loose animals as "mature, very big and aggressive."
"These are wild animals, wild animals that you would see on TV in Africa," Lutz said at a news conference Tuesday evening.
Lutz said the Sheriff's dept has been aware of animal farm for several years, and that it "has been a huge problem."
Hanna, who is also well-acquainted with the preserve, vowed, "I'm not the governor but I'll do everything I can over my dead body to put these people out of business."
The animals were kept in cages that looked similar to a giant "wire dog pen," Lutz said.
Hanna described the conditions as "abominable," saying the animals were living in "filth."..................................
