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Big cat escape at Mentone zoo a hoax

By Jared Felkins
The Times-Journal

Published September 17, 2008

The threat of a wild animal escape at Lookout Mountain Wild Animal Park in Mentone Wednesday had many in fear, a school on alert and officers double checking to make sure every animal was in its cage.

But according to Dr. Robert Bloome, owner of the animal park, the breakout was just a hoax.

“There’s apparently some people who have started some rumors,” Bloome said. “All of our cats are accounted for. I’m seeing patients in my office. I’m not up there looking for any tigers. That should tell you something.”

DeKalb deputies and state conservation game wardens spent several hours at the zoo Wednesday verifying no animals were missing after reports of a tiger, cougar or other large cat had escaped.

“That wildlife park is permitted by us and the USDA,” said Capt. Fred Bain with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “We only do the permitting of public display for animals native to Alabama.

“All of their inventory is accounted for. From that, there is no indication any animal has escaped from that property. There was a cougar that got out of the inner cage and into the outer cage and got into a fight with one of the other cats. They had to put that cat down.”

The reports also had Moon Lake School on alert as well.

“We are not on lockdown,” said Principal Brenda Wisner. “There are rumors going around there is a wild animal loose at the zoo. We are keeping all the children inside the school just as a precaution. The owner assured the sheriff’s department all the animals have been accounted for. We heard it was a tiger loose at the zoo.

“We’re trying to keep panic down. We don’t want people to be worried, but we are taking precautions just in case.”

Bain said there have been undocumented reports a large cat was spotted near the zoo. He said game wardens and other authorities are trying to track down the sources of those reports.

“We’re trying to put together enough evidence to say there is a large cat in the area in Mentone,” Bain said. “If we find evidence, we will do what we need to do.

“It wouldn’t be impossible for someone to see a bobcat and think it was cat that escaped from the zoo. It wouldn’t be impossible to see a cougar, but we haven’t had a documented sighting in several years.”

But Bain said cougars and other large cats move in a large area of up to 20 miles. He said the cat could be spotted one day and it might not be seen again in the same area for six months or up to a year.

Bain also said there are several requirements for zoos like the animal park in Mentone when it comes to large cats.

“The requirements are pretty stringent on how those big cats are kept,” Bain said. “They are to be kept in an inner cage and an outer cage.”

Sheriff Jimmy Harris said Game Warden Kevin Holsonback and Capt. Michael Edmondson took inventory of the park, using a registry of the park’s animals compiled by the USDA when it inspected the park about two weeks ago. While one animal on the registry was missing, the owner of the park reported the animal had been put down a couple of days ago. Holsonback and Edmondson were shown the corpse of this animal to confirm its location.

“I know a lot of folks up there were concerned about some rumors that were going around, but everyone can rest easy that there are no escaped tigers or lions or anything like that,” Harris said. “We got the state involved, and our officers thoroughly searched the area to ensure that there were no displaced animals from the park running around Lookout Mountain. They are all present and accounted for at the park.”

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