Animals were given voices through Twitter
Share with others:
Officially, the bear had "no comment."
It's a fact of the modern age that when something bizarre happens, the inevitable social media spin might range from informative to uplifting, consoling or, in the case of the animals running wild from a private preserve in Zanesville, Ohio, pretty entertaining.
No one is making light of a tragic situation; dozens of exotic animals were killed on sight and their owner, Terry Thompson, reportedly opened their cages before killing himself.
The Muskingum County sheriff's office used Twitter and Facebook to alert citizens to the trouble, sending out this message around dinnertime Tuesday: "• • • • ALERT• • • • Several wild exotic animals have got loose of captivity in the area of Kopchak Rd and Interstate 70."
There were updates throughout the following day, advising residents to stay away from some areas and to call 911 should they spot one of the animals.
But Tuesday night, as many of the creatures still roamed the woods and towns along Interstate 70 and Route 40, west of Pittsburgh, a few creative souls gave them a voice via Twitter.
There were "ZanesvilleLion," "ZanesvilleBear" and "ZanesvilleWolf," among others.
"How long was I locked up? They remade Footloose?" tweeted ZanesvilleBear, who had more than 1,000 followers by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
Although his -- or her -- Twitter account initially featured a profile icon of a snarling bear, there was this: "My PR team has recommended a new, softer image. Enjoy."
It was accompanied by a picture of Yogi Bear.
Despite the fun of making witty little 140-character comments in the persona of a wild animal, "ZanesvilleBear" wasn't playing up to the media.
A request for an interview was met with this response: "Sorry, no press. We're not the story."
First Published October 20, 2011 12:00 am
