Exotic 'pets': What happens when good intentions turn deadly

BY EILEEN BRADY
​​THE NEWS JOURNAL OF WILMINGTON, OHIO

“There’s more tigers in the state of Ohio, in people’s back yards, than … in India right now, in the wild," — Tim Harrison

Tim Harrison’s advocacy for exotic animals — and for common sense — has taken him from southwest Ohio all over the world, speaking on national news programs, teaching for Homeland Security, and being featured in an award-winning documentary. 
He will be in Wilmington April 3 on behalf of his organization, Outreach for Animals, as the featured speaker for the Clinton County Reads dinner at the General Denver, which will be a brief stop on his whirlwind schedule, which ranges from rescuing alligators and pythons from Ohio basements to speaking about “Big Cats in Our Back Yard” with actress Tippi Hedren in Los Angeles just days before he speaks here. 
The Clinton County Reads 2014 book choice, “A Walk in the Woods,” includes information about wild animals along the Appalachian Trail, most often bears, which author Bill Bryson names as one of his great fears along the trail. “A grizzly may chew on a limp form for a minute or two but generally will lose interest and shuffle off,” Bryson writes. “With black bears, however, playing dead is futile, since they will continue chewing on you until you are considerably past caring.” 

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