AKRON: When officials faced the daunting task of hunting down scores of wild animals released from an exotic animal preserve near Zanesville, they turned to the Columbus Zoo for help.Ultimately, the animals, including lions, bears and wolves, were hunted down and shot to death after sheriff’s deputies found Muskingum County Animal Farm owner Terry Thompson dead and the cages empty.“They took the same stand we would have taken here. Public safety is our No. 1 concern, ” said David Barnhardt, director of marketing and guest services for the Akron Zoo.Every day, the Akron Zoo has a seven-member emergency response team on site to handle disasters at the zoo or to offer assistance in local animal-related emergencies if law enforcement calls for help.Wednesday morning, the Akron team met to assess the type of support it could offer Columbus Zoo officials. The team determined it could supply additional manpower and transport cages small enough to hold a thumb-sized poison dart frog to cages large enough to contain a tiger.“Our animal care supervisor sent a text to his colleague at the Columbus Zoo and offered support,” Barnhardt said. “We just wanted them to know we were here if they needed anything.”As members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, both zoos must follow certain requirements to maintain their accreditation with the association that represents only 200 agencies throughout the United States. Regular disaster-training drills are conducted in case an animal escapes or the zoo experiences a weather-related emergency, such as a tornado or snowstorm that knocks out power.Each day, senior zoo officials rotate into a seven-member team that must be in place by 8 a.m. — before the animals are shifted outside — and every evening when the animals are shifted back and the last guest has left the park.The team includes an executive on duty who is in charge of coordinating the team, a guest services staff member in charge of guest needs during an emergency, a member of the hospital staff to handle injured animals and give medication, a park duty manager who focuses on the animals in general, a communications manager for media and internal and outside messaging, a facilities manager for technical issues and a support person to take notes for an incident log.Protocol dictates the first step in any emergency is to call 911 to notify local law enforcement.“The Akron Police Department has taken part in our drills. They have identified all the gates so they would know where to respond,” Barnhardt said.The decision to kill the animals running loose in the countryside was probably not an easy one. But it probably was the best recourse for the safety of the public, Barnhardt said.“Our first attempt would be to dart [tranquilize] the animals. But it would take several minutes for the tranquilizer to trigger. But if [the animal] tried to breach a fence, it would have to be [shot],” he said.“It’s very similar to what we would do here.”Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.