Caged and alone, the sad survivors of the exotic animal bloodbath in Ohio are now in the care of the Columbus Zoo.
Six animals - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the zoo after they were freed by their owner before he killed himself.
'We are happy to report they all seem to be doing very well,' zoo spokeswoman Patti Peters said in a statement on Thursday.
A surviving grizzly bear peers out from a cage at the Columbus Zoo after being captured by authorities
This leopard is one of three that was saved after the bloodbath. Sheriff's deputies shot and killed 48 of the animals
Meanwhile the man who released the 'Noah's Ark' of deadly animals into Zanesville, Ohio, before killing himself has been described by neighbours as a gun-crazed animal lover who was having a tough year.
Terry Thompson, standing with his award-winning Percheron horses in 2008, was recently released from jail, where he was sent after a weapons bust
Vietnam veteran Terry Thompson had reportedly separated from his wife, who was not at the ranch when he released the animals.
Sheriff Matt Lutz said he spoke to Mr Thompson's wife and that she was distraught over the loss of her husband and the animals.
'You have to understand these animals were like kids to her,' Mr Lutz said.
'She probably spent more time with these animals than some parents do spend with their kids.'
Mr Thompson, 62, was released from prison on September 30 after serving a year in jail on charges stemming from an arsenal of weapons he had in his home - which included machine guns and a sniper rifle.
He was also convicted of animal cruelty in 2005 after three animals at his farm died.
Mr Thompson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and also had a bite wound on the head that appeared to have come from a large cat, such as a Bengal tiger, Mrt Lutz said.
It appeared the bite occurred soon after Mr Thompson shot himself and that his body had been dragged a short distance.
Neighbours described Mr Thompson as having a passion for exotic creatures, which led to tensions in the area. He had had repeated run-ins with the law and his neighbours.
Mr Lutz said that the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping onto neighbours' property.
One of two macaques that were captured by authorities in the Ohio tragedy. Macaques are short tailed monkeys found in Asia and Africa
Orphaned but alive: One of three leopards captured, a black leopard, was one of Terry Thompson's 'babies', as the dozens of exotic animals were known
John Ellenberger, a neighbour, speculated that Thompson freed the animals in an act of spite against neighbours and police. 'Nobody much cared for him,' Mr Ellenberger said.
Fred Polk, who lived near Mr Thompson's ranch, told the Great Falls Tribune that his neighbour's assortment of wildlife was a 'time bomb waiting to happen'.
Angie McElfresh, who lives in an apartment near the farm and hid with her family in fear, said: 'It could have been an "f-you" to everybody around him.'
Sheriff's deputies shot nearly 50 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - in a big-game hunt across the countryside on Wednesday after Mr Thompson threw the cages open at the Muskingum County Animal Farm and then committed suicide.
Tragic: Sheriff's deputies shot nearly 50 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - across the state's countryside on Wednesday
Dead: Owner of the animals Terry Thompson was found dead by police at the Muskingum County Animal Farm. He had previous gun charges and was separated from his wife
As homeowners nervously hid indoors, officers armed with high-powered rifles and shoot-to-kill orders fanned out through fields and woods to hunt down the 56 animals that had been turned loose.
After an all-night hunt that extended into yesterday afternoon, 48 animals were killed. As well as the lions and Bengal tigers they were six black bears, two grizzlies, a wolf, a baboon and three mountain lions.
Six others - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo.
Another monkey that was carrying the dangerous Herpes B virus is believed to be dead after being eaten by one of the other animals, and a second wolf was later found dead.
The dead animals were being buried on Mr Thompson's farm, officials said.
Stench of death: Numerous carcasses lie on the ground at the barn of Muskingum County Animal Farm after dozens of exotic beasts were shot
Jack Hanna, renowned wildlife expert and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, told the Columbus Dispatch: 'It’s like Noah wrecking his ark right here in Zanesville, Ohio.'
OHIO LAW ON EXOTIC ANIMALS
The law on the possession of exotic animals in Ohio expired in April of this year. It said:
'No person may bring into the state a non-domestic animal unless the possessor: obtains an entry permit; health certificate certifying the animal is free of infectious diseases; and a certificate of veterinary inspection. Persons in the state possessing non-domestic animals do not need to obtain a permit.'
The Humane Society of United States urged Ohio officials to issue an emergency rule to crack down on exotic animal ownership after yesterday's incident.
The organisation said that if the previous emergency order issued by then-Governor Ted Strickland had not expired, then Thompson 'would almost certainly have had his animals removed by May 1, 2011.'
Ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.
Mr Hanna defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals but said the deaths of the Bengal tigers were particularly tragic.
There are only about 1,400 of the endangered cats left in the world, he said.
'When I heard 18, I was still in disbelief,' he said. 'The most magnificent creature in the entire world, the tiger is.'
As the hunt went on around Zanesville, population 25,000, schools closed in the mostly rural area of farms and widely spaced homes 55 miles east of Columbus.
Parents were warned to keep children and pets indoors.
And flashing signs along highways told motorists, 'Caution exotic animals' and 'Stay in vehicle.'
Officers were ordered to kill the animals instead of trying to bring them down with tranquillisers for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness and would later regain consciousness.
'Mr Lutz said: 'These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behaviour. Once nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming.'
Mr Thompson had rescued some of the animals at his preserve and purchased many others, said Columbus Zoo spokeswoman Miss Peters.
Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz was joined by Columbus Zoo director emeritus and wildlife expert Jack Hanna as he announced the animal round up
Carcass: The body of a lion, thought to have been shot dead by police, lies in the undergrowth close to the reserve
It was not immediately clear how Mr Thompson managed to support the preserve and what is purpose was, since it was not open to the public.
But Mr Thompson had appeared on the Rachael Ray Show in 2008 as an animal handler for a zoologist guest, said show spokeswoman Lauren Nowell.
Larry Hostetler, the executive director of the Animal Shelter Society of Muskingum County, told CNN that Mr Thompson had also once supplied a lion cub for a photoshoot with supermodel Heidi Klum.
Temporary graveyard: The bodies of various dead animals were seen on Terry Thompson's property in Zanesville, Ohio
Dead: Authorities are still trying to capture or kill all the animals that escaped
He said: 'I wrote a letter to Heidi Klum's people. I strongly voiced my opinion that if they're going to hire animals for entertainment, they might want to check handlers' backgrounds - that Terry Thompson had been convicted of animal cruelty. Of course, I never heard anything back.'
The sheriff's office started getting calls on Tuesday evening that wild animals were loose just west of Zanesville. Deputies went to the animal preserve and found Mr Thompson dead and all the cages open. Several aggressive animals were near his body and had to be shot, the sheriff said.
Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Merry was among the first to respond on Tuesday.
He said he shot a number of animals, including a gray wolf and a black bear. He said the bear charged him and he fired his pistol, killing it with one shot when it was about seven feet away.
Warning: A sign posted on Interstate 70 warns drivers of animals on the loose in the area around Zanesville, Ohio
A bear is pictured on the loose shortly after its escape
Mr Merry said: 'All these animals have the ability to take a human out in the length of a second.'
'What a tragedy,' said Barb Wolfe, a vet with The Wilds, a nearby zoo-sponsored wild animal preserve.
She said she managed to hit a tiger with a tranquilliser dart, but the animal charged toward her and then turned and began to flee before the drug could take effect, and deputies shot it.
'It was like a war zone with all the shooting,' said Sam Kopchak, who was outside on Tuesday when he saw Mr Thompson's horses acting up. Mr Kopchak said he turned and saw a male lion on the other side of a fence.
'The fence is not going to be a fence that's going to hold an African lion,' Mr Kopchak said.
At a nearby Moose Lodge, Bill Weiser said: 'It's breaking my heart, them shooting those animals.'
Ohio has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.
At least nine people have been injured since 2005 and one person was killed, according to Born Free USA, an animal advocacy group.
Terry Thompson's property, where dozens of large exotic animals including tigers, lions and bears were released when he opened their cages
The state requires permits for bears but doesn't regulate the ownership of animals like lions and tigers.
Last summer, an animal caretaker was killed by a bear at a property in Cleveland. The caretaker had opened the bear's cage on keeper Sam Mazzola's property for a routine feeding.
Although animal rights activists had wanted Mr Mazzola charged with reckless homicide, the caretaker's death was ruled a workplace accident. The bear was later destroyed.
This summer, Mr Mazzola was found dead on a water bed at his home in Columbia Township, 15 miles south-west of Cleveland. He was wearing a mask and with his arms and legs had been restrained when he was discovered,
It was never revealed how many animals were on the property when Mr Mazzola died, but he had said in a bankruptcy filing in May 2010 that he owned four tigers, a lion, eight bears and 12 wolves.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had revoked his licence to exhibit animals after activists campaigned against him letting people wrestle with one bear.
On Wednesday, the Humane Society of the United States criticized Governor John Kasich for allowing a statewide ban on the buying and selling of exotic pets to expire in April.
The organisation urged the state to immediately issue emergency restrictions.
'How many incidents must we catalogue before the state takes action to crack down on private ownership of dangerous exotic animals?' Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO, asked in a statement.
Mr Kasich said on Wednesday during a meeting of Dix Communications editors: 'Clearly, we need tougher laws. We haven't had them in this state. Nobody's dealt with this, and we will. And we'll deal with it in a comprehensive way.'
Barney Long, an expert at the World Wildlife Fund, noted that tigers in general are endangered. He said there appear to be fewer of them living in the wild than there are in captivity in the U.S. alone. Over the last century, the worldwide population has plunged from about 100,000 in the wild to as few as 3,200, he said.
More than half are Bengal tigers, which live in isolated pockets across Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, he said in a telephone interview.
'The tragic shooting of 18 tigers in Ohio really highlights what is happening on a daily basis to tigers in the wild throughout Asia,' Mr Long added in an email. 'Their numbers are being decimated by poaching and habitat loss, and that is the real travesty here.'
An official put out flares to warn residents during the hunt for the animals
Hunt: Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz speaks to the media after the escape of the exotic animals
by dailymail.co.uk
