Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flight

mpenguin1

Well-Known Member
ATLANTA (AP) — A Delta baggage worker got a bit of a fright the day before Halloween when she opened the door of a cargo bin to find a live cheetah running loose inside.

Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said Friday that two cheetahs were being transported in the cargo area of a passenger flight from Portland, Ore. to Atlanta Thursday when one escaped from its cage.

Talton said the airline contacted Zoo Atlanta, which quickly sent help. She said zoo staff tranquilized the animals and took them to the zoo, where they were still being held Friday afternoon.

Talton said the airline was working with the owner of the cheetahs to get the big cats back to them. She declined to identify the owners, citing customer privacy rules.

Talton said the cheetah did not damage any luggage.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-10-31-cheetah-in-cargo_N.htm
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

man, that would take a while to get your luggage!
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

That's pretty funny. Snakes on a plane but less retarded and with cheetahs
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Do Delta's 757s have forward cargo heat? If so, they should carry animals up front and away from my luggage.
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

And I thought the Cheetah's in Vegas was wild....
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Delta's new security set up for our luggage?
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Reminds me of a Captain I flew with, he told me a story. One of the rampers in this outstation was a cute blonde girl so that meant that this Captain must terrify her I guess. He said that as soon as he pulled the levers to fuel off he jumped up, opened the door and ran straight back through the aisle all the way to the back, opened the door to the baggage compartment and got in, and hid behind one of the bags. When the cute girl opened the baggage compartment and reached for the bag he was hiding behind he jumped out and went "OOGA BOOGA!!!"


She freaked out pretty good apparently.

In this case instead of a silly turboprop pilot it's a ferocious and starving cheetah.
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Where the heck was that cat when some clown stole my bag in LAS when I was there for NJC?
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Reminds me of a Captain I flew with, he told me a story. One of the rampers in this outstation was a cute blonde girl so that meant that this Captain must terrify her I guess. He said that as soon as he pulled the levers to fuel off he jumped up, opened the door and ran straight back through the aisle all the way to the back, opened the door to the baggage compartment and got in, and hid behind one of the bags. When the cute girl opened the baggage compartment and reached for the bag he was hiding behind he jumped out and went "OOGA BOOGA!!!"


HAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHA Thats a good one!
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

What's lost here is the fact that the owner is probably some guy who lives in an apartment and plans to keep them in a cage the size of a walk-in closet. State laws with regards to keeping wild animals vary considerably, but in Florida, you only need a cage that's about 4x5 feet large.

These animals should not be legally sold or kept as pets - it's unethical and unsafe.
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Why does Memphis somehow always seem to be involved when stuff like this happens? :)

Guess where the cheetahs were going? Memphis Zoo. What gets me is.....why? We're like the half-way house for cheetahs right now. We're fostering 3 of 'em while Birmingham re-habs their big cat area, we've got one of our own (her mate just died recently, and she's so old, she's probably got one paw in the grave already), so I don't even know where we're planning on putting these two.....

Of course, our cheetah run is a pretty decent size. You guys should come on down, and I'll give ya the deluxe tour.
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

Why does Memphis somehow always seem to be involved when stuff like this happens? :)

Guess where the cheetahs were going? Memphis Zoo. What gets me is.....why? We're like the half-way house for cheetahs right now. We're fostering 3 of 'em while Birmingham re-habs their big cat area, we've got one of our own (her mate just died recently, and she's so old, she's probably got one paw in the grave already), so I don't even know where we're planning on putting these two.....

Of course, our cheetah run is a pretty decent size. You guys should come on down, and I'll give ya the deluxe tour.

If they were going to a zoo, I'm definitely glad to hear that. Memphis does pick up a lot of animals that are seized by the police (in drug raids and the like)
 
Re: Cheetah gets loose in cargo hold of Delta passenger flig

If they were going to a zoo, I'm definitely glad to hear that. Memphis does pick up a lot of animals that are seized by the police (in drug raids and the like)

Yep. They're actually here now in quarantine. From what I gather, it's a breeding exchange program with a couple of other zoos. Sad fact is, the cheetah population is already so in-bred it's probably gonna be gone in a few decades from genetic diseases.
 
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