September 13, 2009 Scottsbluff, NE A spider monkey bit a zookeeper and evaded would-be captors for several hours at the Riverside Zoo, forcing its closure. The zookeeper’s bites were treated at a local hospital. The three other monkeys were coaxed back into their exhibit and the escaped male was found near the exhibit at around 1:00pm. Primates
September 12, 2009 Buffalo, NY Buki, a 52-year-old former circus elephant, is in declining health according to officials at the Buffalo Zoo. Zookeepers are making modicifications to her diet but she is losing weight and her appetite and her kidney function has also been affected. Elephants
September 11, 2009 Boston, MA Tweet, an 18-year-old giraffe at the Franklin Park Zoo, collapsed and died while feeding. Tweet starred in the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and numerous commercials for Toys-R-Us. A necrospy was scheduled to be performed. Other
September 11, 2009 Springdale, AL An 11-ft-long python was briefly missing from his possessor’s home. Police found the snake but would not return him because it is illegal to possess exotic animals in city limits. Reptiles
September 10, 2009 Mendon, MA A 4-year-old child suffered a minor laceration to her right cheek after she was struck by a deer at Southwick’s Zoo. This was the second incident involving a deer-related injury at the zoo in a month. Other
September 10, 2009 Lakeland, FL Two Burmese pythons, one 17-ft-long and the other 11-ft-long, were removed from a Florida home. The resident told police officials that he owned the snakes but did not have the required permits to keep them. Charges were filed against the resident. Reptiles
September 9, 2009 Allentown, PA A 6-ft-long alligator was found near Jordan Park. Authorities may never know how the male alligator ended up in the park. The alligator was turned over to a reptile farm in Marshalls Creek in Monroe County. Reptiles
September 9, 2009 Columbia, MO A 3-1/2-ft-long alligator seized from an apartment where it was living in a bathtub was turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society. The possessors faced a fine for housing an exotic animal without proper license. Meanwhile, the Society was working to place Allygator, as the staff affectionately named him. Reptiles
September 8, 2009 Elmira Heights, NY A 10-ft-long python snake escaped her possessor. Police charged a 20-year-old man with two counts of having an exotic pet without proper permits. Police cautioned residents not to touch the snake if they found her but to call the authorities immediately. Reptiles
August 31, 2009 Vancouver, WA Clark County officials searched for a small alligator spotted in the area. They theorized that someone kept the alligator as a “pet” and simply released her to the wild. Reptiles