Point Defiance Zoo’s history of escapes includes dapper penguin, snacky grizzly
Everyone needs a change of scenery once in a while, even the furriest among us. The clouded leopard that briefly escaped into a tree Friday at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma might have just needed a little “me time.”
Clouded leopards are a solitary sort, after all. Orchid the clouded leopard’s little getaway is just the latest in the zoo’s long history. An absconding arctic fox, a reportedly dapper penguin and a snacky grizzly bear have all gone on the lam since the zoo was established in 1905.
Here is a brief reverse chronology of the zoo’s escapes and near-escapes, per The News Tribune’s archives.
- April 2014: Forrest the Eurasian eagle owl flew off while rehearsing for a performance in the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater, setting off a three-day search that eventually landed him back home. Zoo staff said at the time that Forrest was startled by changes to the stage. More recently, a biologist said it was a windy day, and the owl was mobbed by crows as he was flying out. Forrest was 9 years old at the time. He’s now at least 20, and he hasn’t stopped making headlines. His status as the zoo’s most superb owl got him some extra attention around Super Bowl LX in February.
- February 2008: An arctic fox named Scout was captured near the Tacoma side of the tunnel on Ruston Way about three hours after keepers noticed he was missing. The white-and-gray, 8-pound fox had been trying to escape for a month after he arrived from a zoo in Canada. Bicyclists spotted Scout and called 911, prompting zoo staff to rush to the area, where he was surrounded and anesthetized before being taken back to a more secure enclosure.
- August 2002: A 3-month-old Magellanic penguin made a true escape that month and was never found, according to archive stories. Skip Card, a former reporter for The News Tribune, imagined the young penguin out on the town. “I feel comfortable at black-tie events, where every other guy is dressed in a tuxedo,” the bird told Card in an exclusive interview. “Besides, there’s usually a shrimp platter.”
- November 1987: A young Asian bull named Rama strolled up Pearl Street after he raced away from his handlers. The 2,700-pound beast trampled fences and broke windows. The zoo director at the time, John Houck, said Rama ran out of gas on the Pearl Street hill, and he was safely returned.
- November 1969: Karluk the Kodiak bear nearly clawed his way to freedom by bending the bars and ripping up concrete in a 1905-era pen where he was temporarily housed. Two Bellarmine Prep students who went by on their lunch hour noticed Karluk had freed his head and one paw. The students got help, and the enclosure was repaired while police officers watched with a 12-gauge shotgun.
- June 1938: A grizzly bear called Butch moseyed out of the zoo that summer, and animal hunters were hired to catch him. After three weeks, the 3-year-old, 250-pound bear’s apparent taste for cantaloupe, fish and bacon landed him back in custody. “He looked just like a boy caught stealing jam,” park official Peter Benthien told a News Tribune reporter.
- August 1936: The Tacoma Times ran a tearjerker of a headline that month: “Slain Bear Will Go To Soap Plant.” A bear was on her way to the zoo when she escaped from a truck at 10th Street and Pacific Avenue. The story explained that the bear was shot to death in the elevator of the Olympus Hotel. Then-Park Superintendent Sherman Ingels told the newspaper that officials considered “the tempting possibility of steaks and roasts. But those thoughts were abandoned, because, (1) the beast had not been bled properly, (2) she-bear meat isn’t considered especially tasty, and (3) the slain animal appeared to be rather old and tough.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 4:06 PM.
Peter Talbot
The News Tribune