(CNN) -- An Ohio sheriff believes no more exotic animals are on the loose after his deputies killed 49 lions, tigers and other wild animals freed from a local farm by its suicidal owner.
Of the 56 animals released Tuesday night, only a grizzly bear, two monkeys and three leopards were taken alive, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.
One monkey remained unaccounted for Wednesday night, but conservationist Jack Hanna, who assisted in the effort, said the animal may have been eaten.
"It looks like everything is taken care of," Hanna said. "There was one monkey left, and right now, we found a carcass of the monkey. We don't know if it was eaten."
The farm's owner, Terry Thompson, pried open cages and opened the farm's fences before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday afternoon, Lutz said
None of the deputies are equipped with tranquilizer guns, Lutz told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
And with night falling Tuesday, he gave the order to kill the escaped animals.
"If this had been a 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock incident, in the middle of the day, odds are high that we may have been able to surround the area and keep everything contained," he said. "But our biggest problem that we had was nightfall. We had about an hour, hour and a half of light, and we just couldn't take the chance."
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As of Wednesday afternoon, authorities had killed 49 animals -- 18 tigers, 17 lions, six black bears, two grizzly bears, three mountain lions, two wolves and a baboon. Those captured alive were taken to the Columbus Zoo.
Hanna, the zoo's director emeritus, said he was upset by loss of "precious" animals, but defended the decision to use deadly force.
"To have no one hurt or killed here with 40-something animals getting loose is unbelievable," he told CNN's "The Situation Room."
Hanna led a team of experts who arrived with four tranquilizer guns late Tuesday in an effort to corral the animals. He said the drugs take several minutes to subdue an animal even with a good shot, and one tiger had to be killed Wednesday afternoon when it turned on a veterinarian after being hit with a tranquilizer dart.
Overnight, sheriff's deputies searched the eastern Ohio woods around the city of Zanesville with night-vision gear and patrolled in pickups, armed with shotguns. Flashing signs on the highways in eastern Ohio warned motorists Wednesday: "Caution. Exotic animals." Schools were closed, and some frightened residents said they were keeping to their homes as sheriff's deputies hunted lions, tigers, leopards and grizzly bears.
"Yeah, there's a lion on Mount Perry Road. ... I just drove by and it walked out in front of me and was standing there under the street light," one caller to 911 told deputies.
Zanesville Mayor Howard Zwelling said he received calls from people who were concerned that the animals had been killed. He said authorities were trying to use tranquilizers whenever possible.
But Lutz told reporters, "We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog.
"These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we have had to put down," he said.
Thompson's property is about 2 miles outside Zanesville. The 62-year-old had been released from a federal prison September 30 after pleading guilty earlier this year to possessing illegal firearms, including five fully automatic firearms. A civil case seeking forfeiture of firearms was pending, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Ohio's Southern District.
He also had been convicted of animal cruelty and was arrested several times for traffic violations.
Authorities were waiting on the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of his death, but Lutz said Thompson shot himself just after releasing the animals.
Sam Kopchak, Thompson's neighbor, said he saw lions and bears running free Tuesday evening, with one tiger chasing horses. Kopchak managed to get himself and his horse into his barn and telephoned his mother.
"It was like a war zone," Kopchak said when authorities descended on the property, set off the road named after Kopchak's family.
Kopchak described Thompson as aloof. He loved animals. Kopchak saw him driving one time with a baby black bear on his chest
Of the 56 animals released Tuesday night, only a grizzly bear, two monkeys and three leopards were taken alive, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said.
One monkey remained unaccounted for Wednesday night, but conservationist Jack Hanna, who assisted in the effort, said the animal may have been eaten.
"It looks like everything is taken care of," Hanna said. "There was one monkey left, and right now, we found a carcass of the monkey. We don't know if it was eaten."
The farm's owner, Terry Thompson, pried open cages and opened the farm's fences before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday afternoon, Lutz said
None of the deputies are equipped with tranquilizer guns, Lutz told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
And with night falling Tuesday, he gave the order to kill the escaped animals.
"If this had been a 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock incident, in the middle of the day, odds are high that we may have been able to surround the area and keep everything contained," he said. "But our biggest problem that we had was nightfall. We had about an hour, hour and a half of light, and we just couldn't take the chance."
Jack Hanna: 'I'll never forget this'
Friend: Animal farm owner under stress
Safety of animal preserves questioned
Mayor: Exotic animal owner shot himself
As of Wednesday afternoon, authorities had killed 49 animals -- 18 tigers, 17 lions, six black bears, two grizzly bears, three mountain lions, two wolves and a baboon. Those captured alive were taken to the Columbus Zoo.
Hanna, the zoo's director emeritus, said he was upset by loss of "precious" animals, but defended the decision to use deadly force.
"To have no one hurt or killed here with 40-something animals getting loose is unbelievable," he told CNN's "The Situation Room."
Hanna led a team of experts who arrived with four tranquilizer guns late Tuesday in an effort to corral the animals. He said the drugs take several minutes to subdue an animal even with a good shot, and one tiger had to be killed Wednesday afternoon when it turned on a veterinarian after being hit with a tranquilizer dart.
Overnight, sheriff's deputies searched the eastern Ohio woods around the city of Zanesville with night-vision gear and patrolled in pickups, armed with shotguns. Flashing signs on the highways in eastern Ohio warned motorists Wednesday: "Caution. Exotic animals." Schools were closed, and some frightened residents said they were keeping to their homes as sheriff's deputies hunted lions, tigers, leopards and grizzly bears.
"Yeah, there's a lion on Mount Perry Road. ... I just drove by and it walked out in front of me and was standing there under the street light," one caller to 911 told deputies.
Zanesville Mayor Howard Zwelling said he received calls from people who were concerned that the animals had been killed. He said authorities were trying to use tranquilizers whenever possible.
But Lutz told reporters, "We are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog.
"These are 300-pound Bengal tigers that we have had to put down," he said.
Thompson's property is about 2 miles outside Zanesville. The 62-year-old had been released from a federal prison September 30 after pleading guilty earlier this year to possessing illegal firearms, including five fully automatic firearms. A civil case seeking forfeiture of firearms was pending, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Ohio's Southern District.
He also had been convicted of animal cruelty and was arrested several times for traffic violations.
Authorities were waiting on the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of his death, but Lutz said Thompson shot himself just after releasing the animals.
Sam Kopchak, Thompson's neighbor, said he saw lions and bears running free Tuesday evening, with one tiger chasing horses. Kopchak managed to get himself and his horse into his barn and telephoned his mother.
"It was like a war zone," Kopchak said when authorities descended on the property, set off the road named after Kopchak's family.
Kopchak described Thompson as aloof. He loved animals. Kopchak saw him driving one time with a baby black bear on his chest
