Zoo Massacre | The Tragic Story of Terry Thompson and the 'Zanesville Massacre' | Well, I Never 

This was so traumatic for the law enforcement officers who had to do the shooting. They were fully aware of the fact that they were killing endangered species who had been unfairly released by an irresponsible owner. The police would have been happy to save the animals if it had been safe to do so, but they couldn't risk them getting into local neighborhoods. This story made the national news here in the US. It was widely considered to be an all-around tragedy.

So sad about the lionesses staying in their cages and still had to be put down. I'm tearing up here 😩

This video was totally heartbreaking. How can anyone say they love animals and then turn them loose, knowing what will happen?!? What a self centered and evil man he was. Wild animals should be kept in their natural habitat and if they get sick or hurt should be taken care of and returned to their habitat. They should not be caged.

I remember when this happened, I live about two hours north and we were absolutely glued to the news that day. Ten years later it still doesn’t feel like it actually happened. No one should privately own these exotics, its just cruel.

The biggest tragity was they had the animals in the first place. 😕

I live in Zanesville and remember this very much. My house is about eight miles away from the Thompson farm, as the crow flies. I remember heading to work, stepping out my front door at 4am in the dark, hoping to God they were able to account for all the lions. Becoming lion chow certainly would have ruined my day.😄

I live in Zanesville and remember this event well. I met Terry once, he was actually picking up a deer that had died on our property. He told me about his monkey while in combat, it bit everyone but him and that's when he knew he had a connection with animals. Many still believe there was some foul play around the events that day and it wasn't a suicided but a murder by a local. Crazy event for sure.

As unpleasant as all of this slaughter was, law enforcement was dealing with extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances, and they had to make decisions quickly as to how to act.

I’ve caught myself walking around saying “Well, I never!” All day long recently... and I just have to say I think I have nailed your accent!

I live in Zanesville and remember well the day it happened. Many of us drove through the area in hopes of seeing a tiger or lion. Years prior I actually bought a Doberman puppy from him. Heartbreaking as it may be the sheriff made the right choice. Our area is heavily wooded and allowing these apex predators with no fear of humans to go into the woods would have been disastrous for the community who would have no idea what might be lurking.

It is insane how one person can be so irresponsibe. Being someone from europe I only seen a short article about this and after the years it's nice to see what happened in detail. Please keep up the good work!

Terry Thompson was three months older than I. It's a part of the 60's that haunts my Generation. Not everybody came home with their minds running at 100%. I know a lot of guys who still to this day wrestle with PTSD. The effects can stay hidden for years, and then surface. I feel bad for the animals and I feel bad for Terry. The War destroyed everything and everybody it touched. Someday, maybe, Man will learn to live in Peace.

Wow! I was in high-school when this happened. I actually lived about that 10 minutes away from Terry. I wasn't allowed to wait for bus during this because of the animals being loose and the threat of them being so close to us. I never thought I'd see a video about this. Super cool to finally see someone cover it. It was a wild few days, as well as extremely devastating to know so many poor animals had to be killed.

What people don't remember is that a wild animal will always be wild. They're not meant to be pets. My great-grandfather rescued an injured wolf pup, and instead of releasing her again into the wild or turning her over to a zoo once she was well again, he kept her as a pet named Trixie. For years, she seemed docile and gentle enough. My mom says that she has fond memories of playing with Trixie when she was young. But when Trixie got older, she ran away from my great-grandfather's house, killed his chickens, then killed his neighbor's prized calf. Once she was caught, it was decided that she had to be put down. She clearly wasn't as docile as they'd thought, and- since my great-grandpa lived in a small farming community- almost everyone in the area depended on their livestock for their living. He was devestated, he really bonded with Trixie. It's so sad to think that she died because he tried to keep her as a pet instead of releasing her or turning her over to an expert who could have handled her release and re-introduction to the wild properly. So sad.

😢😢those poor animals even the ones that stayed in their cages ended up dead. It’s soo sad what a selfish man I can only assume it was one last act to get back at his wife having the animals let loose and ensuring he was killed in the process. Good video again! 🙌🏻

I lived in Zanesville when this happened. I remember this. It was both shocking and devastating. I heard bits and pieces and lots of theories and people running off at the mouth, but this is the most complete version of the story I have heard.

I lived in Coshocton, near Zanesville for a while. I worked at the Conesville power station, but moved away before the animal massacre. A truck driver who lived near Zanesville, and often delivered equipment from the Conesville plant to our shop in Kentucky, told me, a few days after the massacre, that he had grown up around Terry, knew him personally, and that he had been involved in another notorious incident nearby. According to the driver, Terry had also flown a small airplane through the "handles" of the Longaberger Basket headquarters building. If you have been to the area, you wouldn't forget the building. It is shaped like one of the Longaberger baskets, with 2 basket handles rising above the roof. I believe it was 3 or 4 stories tall, not counting the "handles". It would take one truly skilled and ballsy pilot to pull that off, IF it really happened. The driver stated that he had no proof that the incident really happened, but he said he believed it, as he knew Terry to do some really crazy things. He also stated that many other people in the area who knew Terry also believed it really happened. I was blown away when I heard the news of the massacre, as I had lived so close by only 3 years previously. One of the craziest tragedies I have ever heard of. If you tend to downplay PTSD, you need to re-evaluate. Even though he placed the entire area in severe danger, I hope the man now rests in peace.

such an irresponsible person in life and in death, and the poor animals payed for it in the end.

It would have been nice if the other Zoos closer by would have assisted and more tranquilisers were tried, even in food. The situation was chaotic and sad.

They were really fortunate that the police found out about this in a few hours. If half of these animals managed to spread out into the countryside, it could have been years before they could be found.

I feel sorry for the animals mistreated as well as the exotic

Another unbiased telling of a tragic tale, well done. This channel is truly a gem.

What is it with Ohio and exotic animals? In the early aughts, there was a guy that lived in Malvern, Ohio, that kept a cougar in a cage. It would escape periodically and eat people’s pets. I saw it slink across my back yard a few feet from my window one morning on its last run. At first glance, I thought it was the neighbor’s golden retriever (and how odd it was that he’d gotten out). Then I immediately realized it wasn’t even a dog 😳I suddenly realized how thin the window glass was😂

I remember hearing something about wild animals "escaping" in large numbers around 2012, it's very likely it was this case. So horrible that all those innocent animals had to be killed. I'm so glad that at very least this brought awareness to the dangers of random people having "collections" of exotic animals that not only have special needs, but also are incredibly dangerous. It breaks my heart that more of the animals were not able to be tranquilised by the zoo people. It must have been terrifying for the people in the area, I can't even imagine seeing a tiger or lion roaming or worse, stalking you. As always, great informative video. I like the informational vibe yours have instead of the horror movie music some documentaries will put in the background of tragic case stories, it seems unnecessary.

2 wolfs, 4 lions, a tiger, a black bear, and a grizzly bear. That deputy unfortunately had the craziest hunting day ever.

My heart breaks for those animals. I don’t mind saying this video brought me to tears. I’m against caging any animals unless close to extinction and there’s a need to help them reproduce. As almost always there’s a human at the centre of the problem

I am offended by the word "slaughter." The animals were put down as night was coming, the animals were on the loose and people were in danger. If only one little child had died........ The officers had no choice!

Sir, your videos rock. I'm an audiobook narrator and I must say you'd be *excellent* at it! Side gig? Sincerely, Sadie ❤

😢🤧 what a sad waste of the animals lives, may the animals rest in peace, 🙏 great video thanks 🖤

I have fallen in love with your channel. If you’re up for requests, I’d love to see your analysis on Tarrare, The Man with the Unusual Appetite :)

I was in elementary school when this happened, National Road Elementary school. I remember our teachers telling us we were going home early, even though we had just got there, and my parents were pretty scared when they came to pick me up. I really don't remember much but I remember being really sad because I heard that the animals were k*lled (I really really loved animals when I was younger, and I still do.) But apparently they had spotted one of the animals near our school so that's why everyone was sent home.

I remember when this happened. I was really young and was hanging out with my friend who lived next door. We were terrified of seeing one of the animals to the point we freaked out if we saw a really big house cat. It's funny now thinking about it but when I was younger it cause me so much paranoia

I obviously hate the animals were put down because of a selfish tool, I’m also glad no people were hurt. Releasing the most spectacular apex predators from across the globe, was only ending in death one way or another. I can’t imagine living there at the time knowing that bears, tigers, wolves, lions, leopards etc can all be just one wrong turn away.

I've heard this case before. It's not easy even knowing what happened. Those poor animals had to suffer and die because of some man that got butt hurt his life wasn't what he wanted. Very, very sad case. Shame they couldn't have tranquillised them and moved them to the zoo. Edit: I believe something like 20% of all bengal tigers in the world was killed on this day. (Can't remember the exact percentage, but it was high)

I was summoned to the Thompson farm to do some repair work on the house. After which I was given a tour of the animals by Mrs. Thompson. I didn't like the cages even though they were of good size but was told the majority of the animals were rescued from people or places that could no longer care for them. If she didn't take them they would have been put down. How much of that is true I don't know. I also heard that several people that work with large cats said that they could have saved many of the cats if they were given a chance to do so. The bears though had to go. To unpredictable they said.

😭Your videos always strike a chord, but damn if this one doesn't hit different. And then you bring up animal hero Jack Hanna! I agree with him, super sad but totally necessary. They didn't deserve it though. Those animals didn't deserve to live in a dumpy, roadside attraction and they didn't deserve to be killed. oof this vid is punching me in the emotions.

They totally didn’t need to kill the lionesses that were still in their cages. Tranquilizing them would have worked :/

Thank you for creating this video and sharing this crazy story, I had never heard of it before.

100% fault of the dude who bought them. i feel like taking a veterinary science class, has given some insight i wouldnt have before. euthanizing these animals was ultimately the best decision, despite how upsetting the loss of the animals is. you’ve got a mass number of exotic dangerous animals that cannot be secured, and whose temperaments are all unknown. people’s safety does come first, and attempting to recapture these animals when you are not qualified for the task (capturing lions not being in police training) is far too risky. especially when it would be hard to find new locations for such a number of animals too. i put fault on the owners alone for being stupid

I think I was there, many years before. I have a locked memory, no idea of details, I can't explain why, of visiting a man and his wife who had exotic cats. This would have been in the 90s. The photos look like the place I remember, but I cannot be certain. I went there with a carload of friends to see the tigers. We came from a small town in Missouri and spent the night there. I can't be 100 percent certain, but I believe I met these people and saw their animals. My memory is that they were very nice and the property was amazing. My heart hurts to think this is how it ended.

I’ve binge watched this channel. And of all the horrific things covered in your videos, this is the one I can’t finish. I’ll see you in the next one.

I remember this. There were many warnings on the news, and appeals by Hannah, who said they'd be tranquilized and sent to zoos. Initially, he didn't say they'd been purposely released - just that there'd been an accident. Knowing what actually happened, I feel mislead at the very least. What a selfish, narcissistic, final act Thompson committed. He murdered those poor creatures, and he clearly viewed them as no more than a "collection" of things belonging to him. I hope he's paying for it.

Thank you for providing these educational and entertaining videos!

I live in Ohio. What sucks is that some people blame Columbus Zoo and Jack Hanna for what happened.

Just discovered ur channel. Love it, man. Keep up the fantastic work!

I live in Zanesville and have never heard this story. It did happen a few years before I got here, but this seems like something that would still be talked about. Update: talked with some neighbors about this. I guess it happened about a mile from where I'm at. Now it's a motor cross track.

This happened 20 miles from my home town. this is a tragic story

I do think there may have been a better way to handle things. I can't say for sure as I wasn't there, but I feel very saddened that those animals ended up there. I don't particularly care for zoos either, but a zoo would've been better than death.

This is like my 5th video in a row, amazing channel ! 👏

I'm impressed that the sheriff's deputies' training apparently included interpreting the facial expressions of Black bears.

This reminds me of the great tiger hunt of 1972 , back in 1972 after Hurricane Agnes had passed through Baltimore Maryland a lot of cages at the Baltimore City Zoo were either damaged or destroyed including the big cat enclosure . Most of the animals never left the property except for a large male tiger that managed to make it all of the way to Bloomfield , Maryland . It remained elusive until it was spotted dragging off a pet dog , then eating it , after a horse was found dead in the area people took up arms , and hunted it down until it was found off of US-1 in South West Baltimore county , in the woods behind the Beltway Motel where it was put down saving countless lives ( the woods are now long gone ) . I remember my mom telling us kids not to go out of the house and to stay away from the woods all summer even after all of the animals were accounted for , I think that I was around 8 or 9 when this happened

I feel so bad for all the animals. They didn't know what was going on, where they were, or anything ): I always feel so bad for them. Especially for them because they're ultimately the victims of their owners.

Terry knew what would happen to each & every exotic animal that got out. He not only killed himself but he’s to blame for everything that transpired afterwards. I know it ended badly for the animals but it very well could have ended so much worse. P.S.~ I wonder if his X-widow may be interested in selling any of those cars?

Those poor animals 😥 may they rest in peace

One of my fastest subscribes of all time. I just love you, man. Keep it up.

I was working at the Dollar General warehouse outside of Zanesville Ohio when this happened and the Sheriff's Department handle it in a manner that didn't not sit well with certain individuals and groups. The orders by the sheriff were to shoot on sight versus tranquilize trap and release in some cases.

Wow, what an amazing story. Thankyou for your awesome content.

Totally love your videos. Some I have viewed on other sites and enjoyed them. But you have a great presentation and added information, not to forget your snappy appearance 😊 Happy ln Texas!

I live in Zanesville. I was in college when this happened. It was absolutely wild.

I was one of Terry Thompson's neighbors. School had just let out and my young elementary school daughter, at the time had just got off the bus. Facebook was pretty new and news started spreading very fast. With friends from different states asking me what was going on as I was just learning myself. We were all told to stay indoors. It happened through the night but it seemed so fast. There was one monkey, a white one, that I heard had hepatitis b, that was on the loose and couldn't be found. It's a tragic story. A very sad one. Terry at the end was very selfish. All that needet happened. Out in the country with a lot of farm animals, human lives and a lot of starving exotic animals with unprepared police this was the outcome. May all rest in peace 🐾👣🙏🏼

So much death... no story on your channel makes me as sad as this one...

I remember when this happened, it was a HUGE local news story.

This is the most British chap ive ever seen and i love it.

Civilians who keep exotic animals such as big cats aren't animal lovers, they delude themselves into thinking that they are, but it only encourages animal smuggling, cruelty, irresponsible breeding and ultimately the death of the animals. His narcissistic personality was always going to lead to tragedy.

I live across the pond in Scotland and I remember hearing about this, it was awful, really brutal and upsetting. I thought then and still believe that they should have tried to get wildlife vets/experts there quicker to tranquillise as many animals as possible to safely move them from the property and so many innocent beautiful rare animals wouldn't have had to die that day because of the actions of Terry. I know that there still would have been a chance some animals would have been killed, not 49 tho.

I live a few towns over, this was all the rage in local news. In high school I took a forensics course and we looked at some local cases, including this one. We got to see the wounds on Thompson's skull and such. I forgot that it was a big deal outside of the local area though, and was shocked to see this video come up

Very well done! I’m a fan! LIKED & SUBSCRIBED.

I was born in Zanesville and lived there until 2014. My mother graduated with Terry, I bought my first Harley from him. Drank many beers with him as well. Everyone knew Terry... good and bad. I'll never forget playing football on a Saturday morning at my friend's house and his Cessna crashing right across the street. That truly was a sad day. I'll have to say that there were at least triple as many animals that were loose (and slaughtered by an incompetent sheriff's department.) I personally saw quite a few animals that day that you just shouldn't see!!! Surprised you didn't mention the 14 Bengal tigers that were put down... largest collection of them known. RIP Terry.

Great video.

Awesome video

Absolutely tragic

When this originally happened I was totally up in arms against the police who shot the animals, as many people were at the time. But after watching a few documentaries about this, one especially where it showed how awful it was for these people in law enforcement and how they didn't want to have to kill then animals, I realized they really were given no choice. Terry should have never had these animals, and their deaths are his fault and no one else's. He could have easily committed suicide by walking to a cage and keeping the animals contained but he wanted to "get back" at those who viewed wronged him and didn't care who got hurt, animal or person, in the process.

An absolute tragedy. I'm an exotic animal keeper myself, and this sort of hobby tends to attract people with hoarding problems like this. Unfortunately I feel it was unrealistic to do anything else but shoot them as so many were released. Tranquilizing and containing these animals is a very precise and risky process, which I think is underappreciated. What Terry did was incredibly selfish. It seems he wanted to make sure those animals died with him, or he would have just left them in their cages.

While tragic, wild exotics who have been habituated to humans would prove an even greater risk to human life than their wild counterparts. They who would no longer have any fear or suspicion of humans and no hesitation about approaching them, which could only lead to tragedy. I don't much like Hannah, but what he said in this case was correct. The real tragedy began a lot earlier with the lack of regulation and lax enforcement of laws surrounding exotic animals. It's a little better now, but not by much.

I lived in Columbus Ohio at this time. It was so sad, but not for Thompson, but for the animals, the Zoo had no choice but to put these animals down. It is a bit of a kindness that Hanna now has dementia and cannot remember this.

It's really tough loving animals so much sometimes cause when things like this happens, you understand the risk of losing human life & the actions that are taken but it doesn't make it any easier when these animals had no clue what was going on & no control over being purchased and kept by such an unstable man & they have to pay the ultimate price. I remember when this happened and it really was so sad all the way around.

I just subbed today I am loving this channel.. binge watching vids

I remember when this happened. Such a tragedy…

I moved to Indiana and knew people in Zionsville, Indiana at the time of the incident. I was convinced (erroneously) that it was happening in our area. I was scared, and I remember thinking I want to do something but I can't. Later, after realizing it was another state over, I still cried, and I wept for all involved. Terry was an idiot, a maniac, and a brute. He had NO REASON to have these animals, and they are the victims in these cases, but Jack Hanna is 100% correct. It had to be done; people had to be spared. It is just too sad.

You are great at what you do my friend. Keep it up. Try to tell some stories about Africa Expeditions, Cecil John Rhodes, and the building of the Kariba Dam, how animals was relocated to make place for the dam etc.

I’ve lived in Zanesville my whole life. I was in high school when this happened.

As a resident of Zanesville, Ohio. I'll say the deputies didn't kill those animals Terry did the moment he let them out of there cage's. Side note the road he lived on was windy and hilly and almost hit a camel one night.

I live here. Alert came mid day. Right call all around. Sad situation but thankful no person was hurt.

This video made me so sad! RIP sweet animals

I remember this. So sad and very disturbing 😢 😞 💔

You sir are a very good narrator I really n-joi listening to you're storytelling. sw🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

I live close to ZANESVILLE. I remember when this happened. I love your stories.

If there had been any other way to handle the situation, I'm sure law enforcement would have chosen that option. The original plan, as I've heard it, was to get the animals back to their enclosures and re-secure them. But since that option was taken away by cutting the fences, they had no other choice. I believe some of those men are still haunted by this, as many were animal lovers themselves.

I live in the Columbus area, and I remember when this nightmare happened. I was in high school. It was horrifying, without even living that close by. It was scary, but hugely heartbreaking. These poor creatures didn't deserve what happened to them. They never deserved to live in the conditions they were forced to live in, either. The additional information definitely helps bring the whole thing into context- it was so startling and scary as each update came in. And then we found out he was dead. And ALL the animals were running free. It was unthinkable. Those kinds of animals don't live here unless they're in zoos. Then you hear how they were being treated and kept. And what they were. And then that they were all killed. Unthinkable. Shocking. Terrifying. Infuriating. Heartbreaking. Nothing about this event was good. Haunting is exactly the right word.

Weird hearing opinions from around the globe living so close to there my grandpa rode motorcycles with the guy who let them go and I was even up there once as a toddler

I would have attempted to relocate creatures such as bobcats, black bears, and wolves because they are native to North America, but I understand the logistics problem of capturing and temporarily housing large creatures would be, and find killing the animals is the most pragmatic solution.

I live in Ohio and I remember watching everything happen on the news and how sad I was while watching this how they shouldn’t kill all those animals and how scared I was for the people and the animals but this was 2011?! 11 years ago?!

Very sad event. The Sheriff dept had to do it .

Wow never heard this before! So sad, necessary??? I don't know. I know keeping wild animals is never a good thing. Especially endangered and dangerous ones.

Such a sad story 😭

So heartbreaking and sad...

Thank you.

THANK YOU

Just found, and SUBSCRIBED. I remember this incident happening, but your video was in depth and I remembered how upsetting it was when this happened. I am an animal advocate and have such huge problems with the keeping of exotic animals in captivity, especially by private people who are not trained in how to properly care for them. It was tragic that the animals were slain by law enforcement but I do not blame them, they did not keep and release these animals, especially the predators. In many states, there are very few laws that prohibit the keeping of exotic animals, and the hands of the government inspectors that do check on these animals are frequently tied because they have truly inadequate laws regarding their care. Until laws are enacted throughout the country to protect exotic animals, people will continue to acquire them and keep them, regardless of their lack of training or the welfare of the animals that they collect. It is tragic.

As someone who was seven at the time I was aware but not really grasping the full reality of the situation (I live a couple towns away and there was tons of commotion here about it. This video unlocked a memory I didn't even know I had that's wild