Quarantined exotic animals can be returned to widow of Ohio park owner who killed self

APA sign on I-70 near Zanesville, Ohio warns motorists that exotic animals are on the loose after their owner freed dozens of wild animals and then killed himself on Oct. 19, 2011.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Agriculture ruled Monday that five animals being held in quarantine can be returned to Marian Thompson, the widow of the wildlife park owner who set his menagerie free before killing himself.

It was not immediately known when the animals would be freed, or if Marian Thompson would take them, the Coshocton Tribune reported. She indicated to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium last year that she intended to reclaim them.

Terry Thompson released 56 wild animals from his farm in Zanesville, Ohio, in October 2011 before taking his own life.

Forty-eight were killed by authorities shortly after they were released due to safety concerns. A three-year-old male spotted leopard was euthanized in January after it was injured by a gate at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The animals remaining under quarantine -- a grizzly bear, two leopards and two monkeys -- were found last week to show no signs of contagious disease, the Tribune reported.