Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Jack Hanna on Zanesville, Ohio, Animals: ‘We Would Have Had Carnage’
There was no choice but to kill 49 animals, including tigers, lions and bears, that were released from their enclosures in Zanesville, Ohio, wildlife expert Jack Hanna told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.
“I’m sorry to say, but what the sheriff did had to be done,” Hanna said. “Otherwise, we would have had carnage out here in Zanesville, Ohio.
“Tragedy-wise for me,” he added, “[it's] probably the worst thing in 45 years of history of working with animals. … I’ve seen poachers kill in the wild. I’ve seen animals killed right in front of me with their horns cut off. I’ve seen a lot of things happen in my career, but nothing like this have I ever witnessed.”
Hanna said tranquilizing wild animals is not as easy as many people believe.
“I’ve been out all over the world tranquilizing animals,” he said. “Can you imagine trying to tranquilize an animal in the dark. Fine, we have a spotlight. We hit it. You don’t know exactly: Did you hit a muscle? Did you hit a bone? If you hit the bone, the plunger might not work and put the medicine in. So what do we do? Then we send a veterinarian or the sheriff up there to see if the animal is down, right? What’s gonna happen if the animal is just sitting there not even asleep? You’re dead.”
Hanna told Sawyer that when the wife of Terry Thompson, the man who released the animals and then committed suicide, arrived on the scene, she was shaking and angry.
“She said she was coming to rip me apart because I was taking her animals,” said Hanna, who is helping move the remaining animals to the Columbus Zoo in Powell, Ohio. “When she came in there, she was totally not – just nothing was left. Her husband had just committed suicide. … She has 30-something animals laying there in her driveway that are gone. … She was shivering. I hugged her. I started crying with her.
“I could have yelled at her – you know … to lose 18 Bengal tigers in the world today is beyond a tragic loss,” Hanna said. “I can’t describe what that does to me, along with all the other creatures. But when you see a woman that’s lost everything, what do you do? Do I sit there and yell at her? … I sit there and console her and tell her I’m going to try to help her with her animals that’s left, which is nothing, basically. That’s all I could do.”
Sawyer asked Hanna how long the event would stay with him.
“It’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life,” Hanna said. “What happened here last night had to be done or else we would have had some major losses of human life here this morning. And I won’t forget what happened here today as long as I ever live.”
The Top 5 Moments of Scott Hall’s Wrestling Career: A Fan’s Take
In the latest case of professional wrestling taking center in the mainstream world, ESPN's E:60, a newsmagazine styled show, profiled the life of former WWE star Scott Hall on Oct. 19. Hall, a former WWE star who was front and center during the wrestling revival in the '90s sat down for an expose about his decent into alcoholism and drug addiction.
Scott Hall
Wikimedia Commons
Among the people interviewed for this segment are Hall's best friends Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman as well as people like Stephanie McMahon and Hulk Hogan, all of whom weighed in with their opinions on Hall's fall from glory. Some friends, such as Waltman, said they have been preparing for the 52-year old Hall's death for the last year and a half. With this interesting look at Hall's life, here is a look at the Top 5 moments of his professional wrestling career.
5. Debut in WWE as Razor Ramon
Most fans knew Scott Hall from his time in the AWA, where he was a strong cowboy, or his short lived time in WCW as the Diamond Studd. Hall finally showed up in the WWE as Razor Ramon, The Bad Guy. Based on Scarface, WWE fans embraced him as the newest bad guy, someone who was just as gimmicky as other wrestlers of the era but with more of an edge. It was a new time in the WWE and Hall helped usher in what would become the precursor to the Attitude Era.
Click here to see Razor Ramon's first promo in the WWE
4. Razor Ramon Jobs to the 1-2-3 Kid
Over his career, Scott Hall always seemed to be ready to help his friends. One friend was Sean Waltman, who came to the ring on an episode of Monday Night Raw as a young wrestler known as The Kid. Hall, a main event wrestler at the time, lost to The Kid and suddenly the 1-2-3 Kid was born. It was an amazing moment because jobbers don't lose to stars, and in this match, the WWE proved anything could happen.
Click here to see the match between Scott Hall and Sean Waltman
3. The Kilq Breaks the Fourth Wall
This never took place on television, and was at a house show in Madison Square Garden, but a viral video of the event took off and shook up the WWE. Not many people at that time knew about the inner workings of wrestling so when Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Triple H and Shawn Michaels embraced in the ring after a match, they broke the fourth wall. They were not friends in storylines but they joined forces here to say goodbye. Hall and Nash left the WWE and Triple H was the only man punished for the display.
Click here to see the Madison Square Garden incident
2. Beats Shawn Michaels in Ladder Match at WrestleMania X
Out of all the matches in Scott Hall's career, this was the crown jewel. It was on the biggest stage in wrestling, WrestleMania, and it was against one of the best wrestlers of all time, Shawn Michaels. It was also one of the first big time ladder matches and easily one of the best. Razor Ramon beat Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title in this match and officially arrived as a main event star.
Click here to see highlights of the Wrestlemania X ladder match
1. The nWo Invasion of WCW
The one moment that will always define Scott Hall's career was when he jumped the rails on WCW Nitro and claimed he was invading and planned to take over. Some fans actually believed Hall was coming from the WWE to invade WCW, but what occurred was a new angle in WCW where Hall, and later Kevin Nash, started the biggest movement in professional wrestling history. Hall was the catalyst that led to wrestling's most famous era and will always hold that place in wrestling history.
Click here to see Scott Hall as part of the nWo invasion in WCW
Author Shawn S. Lealos has been a professional wrestling fan since the rock and roll days of the 80s. Shawn watched all the promotions, but held an affinity for the more rugged ones in the Mid South and Dallas focused World Class regions. He still watches wrestling today, enjoying the WWE, TNA and ROH, watching all three on television weekly.
Scott Hall
Wikimedia Commons
Among the people interviewed for this segment are Hall's best friends Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman as well as people like Stephanie McMahon and Hulk Hogan, all of whom weighed in with their opinions on Hall's fall from glory. Some friends, such as Waltman, said they have been preparing for the 52-year old Hall's death for the last year and a half. With this interesting look at Hall's life, here is a look at the Top 5 moments of his professional wrestling career.
5. Debut in WWE as Razor Ramon
Most fans knew Scott Hall from his time in the AWA, where he was a strong cowboy, or his short lived time in WCW as the Diamond Studd. Hall finally showed up in the WWE as Razor Ramon, The Bad Guy. Based on Scarface, WWE fans embraced him as the newest bad guy, someone who was just as gimmicky as other wrestlers of the era but with more of an edge. It was a new time in the WWE and Hall helped usher in what would become the precursor to the Attitude Era.
Click here to see Razor Ramon's first promo in the WWE
4. Razor Ramon Jobs to the 1-2-3 Kid
Over his career, Scott Hall always seemed to be ready to help his friends. One friend was Sean Waltman, who came to the ring on an episode of Monday Night Raw as a young wrestler known as The Kid. Hall, a main event wrestler at the time, lost to The Kid and suddenly the 1-2-3 Kid was born. It was an amazing moment because jobbers don't lose to stars, and in this match, the WWE proved anything could happen.
Click here to see the match between Scott Hall and Sean Waltman
3. The Kilq Breaks the Fourth Wall
This never took place on television, and was at a house show in Madison Square Garden, but a viral video of the event took off and shook up the WWE. Not many people at that time knew about the inner workings of wrestling so when Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Triple H and Shawn Michaels embraced in the ring after a match, they broke the fourth wall. They were not friends in storylines but they joined forces here to say goodbye. Hall and Nash left the WWE and Triple H was the only man punished for the display.
Click here to see the Madison Square Garden incident
2. Beats Shawn Michaels in Ladder Match at WrestleMania X
Out of all the matches in Scott Hall's career, this was the crown jewel. It was on the biggest stage in wrestling, WrestleMania, and it was against one of the best wrestlers of all time, Shawn Michaels. It was also one of the first big time ladder matches and easily one of the best. Razor Ramon beat Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title in this match and officially arrived as a main event star.
Click here to see highlights of the Wrestlemania X ladder match
1. The nWo Invasion of WCW
The one moment that will always define Scott Hall's career was when he jumped the rails on WCW Nitro and claimed he was invading and planned to take over. Some fans actually believed Hall was coming from the WWE to invade WCW, but what occurred was a new angle in WCW where Hall, and later Kevin Nash, started the biggest movement in professional wrestling history. Hall was the catalyst that led to wrestling's most famous era and will always hold that place in wrestling history.
Click here to see Scott Hall as part of the nWo invasion in WCW
Author Shawn S. Lealos has been a professional wrestling fan since the rock and roll days of the 80s. Shawn watched all the promotions, but held an affinity for the more rugged ones in the Mid South and Dallas focused World Class regions. He still watches wrestling today, enjoying the WWE, TNA and ROH, watching all three on television weekly.
Ohio police kill most of menagerie owner set free
Sheriff's deputies shot nearly 50 wild animals - including 18 rare Bengal tigers and 17 lions - in a big-game hunt across the state's countryside Wednesday after the owner of an exotic-animal park threw their cages open and committed suicide in what may have been one last act of spite against his neighbors and police.
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 56 animals that had been turned loose from the Muskingum County Animal Farm by owner Terry Thompson before he shot himself to death Tuesday.
After an all-night hunt that extended into Wednesday afternoon, 48 animals were killed. Six others - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. A wolf was later found dead, leaving a monkey as the only animal still loose.
Those destroyed included six black bears, two grizzlies, a baboon and three mountain lions. Dead animals were being buried on Thompson's farm, officials said.
"It's like Noah's Ark wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio," lamented Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo.
Hanna defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals but said the deaths of the Bengal tigers were especially 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 dragged on outside of 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 tranquilizers for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness before they dropped and would later regain consciousness.
"These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior," Sheriff Matt Lutz said. "Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming."
The sheriff would not speculate why Thompson killed himself and why he left open the cages and fences at his 73-acre preserve, dooming the animals he seemed to love so much.
Thompson, 62, had had repeated run-ins with the law and his neighbors. Lutz said that the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping onto neighbors' property. The sheriff's office also said that Thompson had been charged over the years with animal cruelty, animal neglect and allowing animals to roam.
He had gotten out of federal prison just last month after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.
John Ellenberger, a neighbor, speculated that Thompson freed the animals to get back at neighbors and police. "Nobody much cared for him," Ellenberger said.
Angie McElfresh, who lives in an apartment near the farm said, "it could have been an 'f- you' to everybody around him."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/19/MNR51LJN4C.DTL#ixzz1bIYcdTi0
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 56 animals that had been turned loose from the Muskingum County Animal Farm by owner Terry Thompson before he shot himself to death Tuesday.
After an all-night hunt that extended into Wednesday afternoon, 48 animals were killed. Six others - three leopards, a grizzly bear and two monkeys - were captured and taken to the Columbus Zoo. A wolf was later found dead, leaving a monkey as the only animal still loose.
Those destroyed included six black bears, two grizzlies, a baboon and three mountain lions. Dead animals were being buried on Thompson's farm, officials said.
"It's like Noah's Ark wrecking right here in Zanesville, Ohio," lamented Jack Hanna, TV personality and former director of the Columbus Zoo.
Hanna defended the sheriff's decision to kill the animals but said the deaths of the Bengal tigers were especially 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 dragged on outside of 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 tranquilizers for fear that those hit with darts would escape in the darkness before they dropped and would later regain consciousness.
"These animals were on the move, they were showing aggressive behavior," Sheriff Matt Lutz said. "Once the nightfall hit, our biggest concern was having these animals roaming."
The sheriff would not speculate why Thompson killed himself and why he left open the cages and fences at his 73-acre preserve, dooming the animals he seemed to love so much.
Thompson, 62, had had repeated run-ins with the law and his neighbors. Lutz said that the sheriff's office had received numerous complaints since 2004 about animals escaping onto neighbors' property. The sheriff's office also said that Thompson had been charged over the years with animal cruelty, animal neglect and allowing animals to roam.
He had gotten out of federal prison just last month after serving a year for possessing unregistered guns.
John Ellenberger, a neighbor, speculated that Thompson freed the animals to get back at neighbors and police. "Nobody much cared for him," Ellenberger said.
Angie McElfresh, who lives in an apartment near the farm said, "it could have been an 'f- you' to everybody around him."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/19/MNR51LJN4C.DTL#ixzz1bIYcdTi0
C.J. Wilson doesn't get the 'W' or much help
ST. LOUIS -- Texas Rangers starter C.J. Wilson didn't pitch his best in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday night, but lefty did leave a 2-2 game having danced his way out of trouble at times and receiving little help from friends.
All that matters, however is the 'L' by his name and the fact that he continues to struggle with pitch count, falling behind batters and issuing free passes. He provided six Wednesday night, plus hitting Albert Pujols on a ball in the dirt that started off St. Louis' two-run fourth inning.
Wilson threw 94 pitches in 5 2/3 innings. His final four pitches to Nick Punto were all balls, although Wilson intentionally stayed low and away with the hope of getting him to chase. He allowed just three hits, all in the fourth when Lance Berkman's grounder skidded by Michael Young and down the right-field line. And, Wilson left a runner on third in the sixth inning for Alexi Ogando, who couldn't keep the game tied.
"I felt like I was throwing the ball pretty well tonight," Wilson said. "You give up a ground ball right there [to Berkman] that scores two runs, that's kind of unfortunate. Other than that, I minimized the damage and pitched pretty strategically to the guys that I wanted to."
He got a double play in the first after a lead-off walk and and got Matt Holliday to double up in the fifth with one out and runners at first and second. He didn't get a break when Pujols gobbled up Young's sixth-inning grounder down the line with Ian Kinsler on first, and he got an 0-for-12 night from his 2-3-4 hitters.
Still, Wilson couldn't complete the sixth inning after getting two outs. David Freese doubled to the gap with one out and then Wilson struck out catcher Yadier Molina. That brought up eight-hole hitter Nick Punto, who was batting just .143 in the postseason.
Does Wilson go right after Punto with pitcher Chris Carpenter on deck or pitch around him to get to Carpenter?
He pitched around Punto, failing to get him to lunge at two curveballs down and away, and walked him on four pitches. Carpenter then gets pulled for pinch-hitter Allen Craig and Wilson's night ends right there.
"The plan was not to give in," Wilson said. "I knew that they have either Carpenter coming up or a pinch-hitter and with Alexi Ogando warming up behind me I have confidence that he's going to come in and get that guy out if I get pulled."
Ogando, though, gave a line shot and Craig drove in the winning run for Carpenter. The Cardinals have won Carpenter's last four starts.
Wilson's trend is the other way.
The Rangers are now 2-6 in his eight career postseason starts and Wilson is winless in his last seven.
"I thought C.J. did a good job tonight," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Yep, he may have walked some guys and he hit Albert, but he was in a 2-2 ballgame and was battling Carpenter. As far as I'm concerned, it was a pretty good ballgame, and C.J. did his job."
If Wilson is to turn his postseason around before hitting free agency, he'll need a Game 5 on his home field.
All that matters, however is the 'L' by his name and the fact that he continues to struggle with pitch count, falling behind batters and issuing free passes. He provided six Wednesday night, plus hitting Albert Pujols on a ball in the dirt that started off St. Louis' two-run fourth inning.
Wilson threw 94 pitches in 5 2/3 innings. His final four pitches to Nick Punto were all balls, although Wilson intentionally stayed low and away with the hope of getting him to chase. He allowed just three hits, all in the fourth when Lance Berkman's grounder skidded by Michael Young and down the right-field line. And, Wilson left a runner on third in the sixth inning for Alexi Ogando, who couldn't keep the game tied.
"I felt like I was throwing the ball pretty well tonight," Wilson said. "You give up a ground ball right there [to Berkman] that scores two runs, that's kind of unfortunate. Other than that, I minimized the damage and pitched pretty strategically to the guys that I wanted to."
He got a double play in the first after a lead-off walk and and got Matt Holliday to double up in the fifth with one out and runners at first and second. He didn't get a break when Pujols gobbled up Young's sixth-inning grounder down the line with Ian Kinsler on first, and he got an 0-for-12 night from his 2-3-4 hitters.
Still, Wilson couldn't complete the sixth inning after getting two outs. David Freese doubled to the gap with one out and then Wilson struck out catcher Yadier Molina. That brought up eight-hole hitter Nick Punto, who was batting just .143 in the postseason.
Does Wilson go right after Punto with pitcher Chris Carpenter on deck or pitch around him to get to Carpenter?
He pitched around Punto, failing to get him to lunge at two curveballs down and away, and walked him on four pitches. Carpenter then gets pulled for pinch-hitter Allen Craig and Wilson's night ends right there.
"The plan was not to give in," Wilson said. "I knew that they have either Carpenter coming up or a pinch-hitter and with Alexi Ogando warming up behind me I have confidence that he's going to come in and get that guy out if I get pulled."
Ogando, though, gave a line shot and Craig drove in the winning run for Carpenter. The Cardinals have won Carpenter's last four starts.
Wilson's trend is the other way.
The Rangers are now 2-6 in his eight career postseason starts and Wilson is winless in his last seven.
"I thought C.J. did a good job tonight," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Yep, he may have walked some guys and he hit Albert, but he was in a 2-2 ballgame and was battling Carpenter. As far as I'm concerned, it was a pretty good ballgame, and C.J. did his job."
If Wilson is to turn his postseason around before hitting free agency, he'll need a Game 5 on his home field.
Lindsey Lohan Probation Revoked, Jail Time a Possibility
Fallen starlet Lindsey Lohan was once again in trouble Wednesday, as a judge revoked her probation and she was led from the courtroom in handcuffs. Although a Nov. 2 hearing will determine if she goes to jail, she reportedly posted a $100,000 bail and was released.
Fox News reported that Lohan was sentenced to 360 hours of community service over the course of a year and, after six months, has completed about an hour and a half.
The legal problem is the latest for Lohan, who in the last several years has gone from promising and acclaimed young actress to turbulent party girl to punchline. In 2003, Lohan began building a reputation as a serious, committed teen actress in movies such as “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint where Lohan’s troubles began, but while filming “Georgia Rule” with Jane Fonda, Lohan was hospitalized for exhaustion. A letter to her from the film’s producer chastises her for “ongoing all night heavy partying.” Lohan was subsequently in and out of rehab facilities and arrested for DUI. When she is pulled over she also has a small amount of cocaine. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation. She was sent to Betty Ford, where she gets into an altercation with a worker, which results in a lawsuit. This all occurred in 2007.
After being released from Betty Ford, Lohan reportedly steals a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store and is sentenced to 480 hours of community service, with the stipulation that 120 hours be spent at the county morgue. Lohan was scheduled to appear at the homeless women’s shelter to perform her community service, but she allegedly “showed up once and left after an hour.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Stephanie Sautner said, “If jail meant something in the state of California now, maybe I’d put her in jail.”
Fox News reported that Lohan was sentenced to 360 hours of community service over the course of a year and, after six months, has completed about an hour and a half.
The legal problem is the latest for Lohan, who in the last several years has gone from promising and acclaimed young actress to turbulent party girl to punchline. In 2003, Lohan began building a reputation as a serious, committed teen actress in movies such as “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint where Lohan’s troubles began, but while filming “Georgia Rule” with Jane Fonda, Lohan was hospitalized for exhaustion. A letter to her from the film’s producer chastises her for “ongoing all night heavy partying.” Lohan was subsequently in and out of rehab facilities and arrested for DUI. When she is pulled over she also has a small amount of cocaine. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation. She was sent to Betty Ford, where she gets into an altercation with a worker, which results in a lawsuit. This all occurred in 2007.
After being released from Betty Ford, Lohan reportedly steals a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store and is sentenced to 480 hours of community service, with the stipulation that 120 hours be spent at the county morgue. Lohan was scheduled to appear at the homeless women’s shelter to perform her community service, but she allegedly “showed up once and left after an hour.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Stephanie Sautner said, “If jail meant something in the state of California now, maybe I’d put her in jail.”
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)