For as long as humans have animals, unwilling captives have been able to break free. Sometimes these escapes end harmlessly, with animals quickly and quietly returned, and sometimes they cause havoc. Sometimes animals gain long- lasting freedom but sometimes they end up in tragedy. From leopards on the lam in China to zebras roaming free in the "savanna" of Maryland, here are 8 of the craziest animal escapes of the year.
The leopards that escaped from the wild park in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province, are being searched for. The image is courtesy of STR/AFP.
Three leopards escaped while their enclosure was being cleaned at a park in eastern China. The first leopard was shot with a tranquillizer two days later, the second leopard was captured after being on the run for more than a month, and the third leopard showed no desire to return. Chinese officials released around 100 chickens as live bait in order to track down the third leopard, even though 1,700 personnel and almost 1,000 drones were sent to savesay savesay savesay savesay savesay sent out 1,700 personnel and almost 1,000 drones to savesay savesay savesay savesay savesay sent out 1,700 personnel and almost 1,000 drones to savesay
The residents living near the park received a warning thatpard tracks had been found near mountain villages. Police are looking for something. The Guardian reported at the time that everyone should close doors and windows. The leopard is unlikely to have survived as it never learned to hunt in the zoo.
100 chickens are looking for a big cat after a Chinese zoo covered up a leopard escape.
There are zebras in Maryland.
A zebra is in its natural habitat in the Serengeti. The image is from Shutterstock.
Three zebras escaped from a Maryland exotic animal farm in August and spent months on the run. The zebra was found dead in a snare trap. The other two zebras were caught in December after being free for a while.
The capture of the striped equines did not involve the U.S. Department of Agriculture or Prince George's County animal services. The zebras' owner was charged with three counts of animal cruelty in October.
On the Lam: 10 of the greatest animal escape artists.
The sharks escape from the toxic algae.
The image is from Shutterstock.
In August, sharks in Florida had to flee their coastal waters due to a toxic algal bloom. bonnethead sharks, blacktip sharks, nurse sharks, and lemon sharks were filmed by local residents.
The sharks took to the canals in order to avoid red tide, a type of algae that is causing a lot of damage to the marine environment in Florida.
The Florida canal is being used to hide sharks to escape red tide.
The Tiger is in Houston.
A tiger is not in the picture. The image was taken by Yudik Pradnyana.
A tiger was seen prowling a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, in a video that was widely shared on social media. The tiger wore a collar and was led back into the house by his presumed owner, Victor Hugo Cuevas, who fled the scene with the tiger as police arrived, ABC News reported. There was no tiger to be found after Hugo was taken into custody.
The nine-month-old tiger named India was turned over to the police by Hugo Cuevas' wife. India went missing while Hugo was on bail for a murder charge. The big cat was cared for by his lawyer, who denied that Hugo was the owner. India the tiger is at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas.
The owners of the 'Tiger King' zoo say they help tigers. The experts disagree.
There are animals on the streets.
The camels are not involved in the escapes. The image is from Lisa Maree Williams.
A camel abandoned a nativity scene in Kansas in December. ABC7 Eyewitness News reported that the camel was captured by the police and they pursued it across the golf courses in golf carts.
This was not the first camel escape of the year. A group of camels and a llama escaped from a circus in Italy. The Independent reported that the camels and llama were in the streets of Madrid until they were rounded up. The circus pointed the finger at animal rights activists for the release of the animals on purpose. Insider says a group of camels is called a "caravan".
Do camels have water in their humps?
A ram is running.
The ram escaped from the animal pound. The image is from the NPDC.
A wanted message was posted on Facebook by a New Zealand district council. The sheep pulled the wool over their eyes when they escaped from the animal pound.
The ram was captured by the council after it was reported that he was trying to head butt walkers on a city path. The animal was thought to be a pet. The runaway ram was updated on July 1. The district council did not know where he was at the time.
A sheep named 'Baarack' lost 78 lbs. of matted wool.
The cow slides to freedom.
The New York Post reported that a cow destined for slaughter escaped from a Brazilian cattle ranch and went down a water slide at a nearby amusement park. The cow does not seem to be stable on the water slide in the video that was released by Dirio da Regio. The cow's owner decided to keep it as a pet, as a result of the trip, according to the radio station.
The Brazilian cow was one of several that were destined for slaughter. The Los Angeles Times reported that a herd of cattle escaped from a Pico Rivera, California, slaughter house in June. The cattle ran free through the streets of Pico Rivera after someone left the gate open. They were all captured except for one cow that was shot dead by a sheriff's deputy after it charged at a family.
The smallest cow on Earth may be this 20-inch tall one.
There is a cobra in North Carolina.
A cobra. The image is from theShutterstock.
A cobra went on the run for three days in July after it escaped from a house in Raleigh, North Carolina. Police began the search after a citizen spotted a snake on a porch. The zebra cobra was identified by photos and videos as a species of spitting cobra from southern Africa, The Washington Post reported. The snake was captured by using glue traps or boards covered in glue. ABC11 Eyewitness News reported that experts restrained and removed the striped serpent.
Most cobras are cannibals.
China's internet elephants were honorable mention.
The herd of wild Asian elephants rests in Shijie Township of Yimen County in southwest China. The image is from Xinhua/Alamy Live News.
The story of the Yunnan elephants is one of the most famous animal adventures of the year. The Asian elephants are free to leave their nature reserve in China, but they traveled more than 500 kilometers across the Chinese province of Yunnan. Millions of people in China watched live streams of the elephants as they were monitored around the clock.
The elephants left their nature reserve. Some experts think the herd got lost because of the shrinking rainforest habitat, while others think it is due to the fact that the herd got lost. The elephants returned home in September after a journey that lasted about 18 months, according to China Daily.
A baby elephant has been rescued.
Live Science published the original article.
