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 NEW: As of 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, exotic animal-gate is officially the top story on nytimes.com. Only 3 animals remain on the loose; the rest have been captured or killed (including one that was hit by a car). The owner of the animals, who was recently released from prison, appears to have shot himself after opening all of the cages. Although The Thrill did not have reporters on the scene in Zanesville, we imagine it looked something like this.

The New York Times reports that dozens of wild animals have escaped from nearby Zanesville, about an hour’s drive southeast of Gambier, after their owner was mysteriously found dead. Authorities are hunting them down, but some are still on the loose. Although it seems highly unlikely that any would make it to Gambier, do exercise caution.

Ohio apparently “has some of the nation’s weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them,” and “at least four school districts in the area canceled classes.”