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Bear at the Saint Louis Zoo is back in its habitat after escaping

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2 years ago

February 26, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS – A young Andean bear is back in its habitat at the Saint Louis Zoo after escaping twice this month.

Ben the bear escaped from his outdoor habitat around 1 p.m. Thursday. Zoo officials are determined to find the best way to secure Ben the bear’s outdoor enclosure, so he will not escape a third time.

“We saw the Andean bear earlier, and we were making jokes about it trying to escape, and in hindsight it was,” said Ben and Hannah, visitors from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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The grounds were on lockdown Thursday while zookeepers worked to find the bear. Guests and staff were taken to several indoor facilities. The zoo had reopened after the bear was found.

“They tranquilized him with one dart, and it didn’t take,” said Justin Evins, a zoo guest from Arkansas. “They had to hit him with another one. We didn’t get to see it, but we were stuck in there for about an hour or so.”

Andean bears are rare, with less than 10,000 of them still in the wild. The South American bear first got out of his enclosure on Feb. 7.

“At one o’clock he got out, and within 50 minutes he was secured and back in his habitat,” said Michael Macek, director of the Saint Louis Zoo. “We have a procedure here at the zoo; we do drills throughout the year to perfect it. I couldn’t be more pleased that all our team members and guests are safe and that Ben is safely back in his habitat.”

This is only the second time an animal has escaped from its outdoor habitat.

Macek said the steel mesh did not give way, it was intact; instead, it was the connection points to the framing that the 300-pound bear was able to slip through.

“It might sound like that’s a large animal, but he can get through a relatively small hole,” Macek said. “I will say it wasn’t any bigger than 13 inches in diameter, and he managed to squeeze through that. Of course, the mesh had a little bit of give as well. But he really only compromised a couple of spaces, and that was enough for him to get through.”

Ben will spend some time getting enrichment indoors for the time being.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

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2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

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2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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