Search Exotic Incidents Database

Police raided two houses where thieves were hoarding exotic animals, including a Brazilian parrot and other exotic birds, a rare breed of small fox, an Australian wallaby, a fish tank of piranhas, and several wild cat breeds. A couple in their mid-20s was arrested. Several of the animals were returned to their rightful possessors.

Local health officials may have identified the possessor of a “pet” monkey that bit two children in a Columbia park, setting off a statewide primate hunt. A woman was wanted for questioning regarding the incident. See 09/28/07.

Authorities from Columbia County Animal Care are investigating an incident involving a 17-month-old toddler bitten by a baboon at the Columbia County Merchants Fall Fair. The mother took the child to her pediatrician for treatment.

At the San Antonio Zoo, an African elephant called Alport died at the age of 49. The cause of death was not immediately known, but her condition had deteriorated rapidly from the point at which keepers noticed she was not feeling well and was struggling to stand and walk. Alport had just been diagnosed with a serious orthopedic tear in her knee in the days prior to her death. Alport’s companion, Lucky, was now the sole elephant at this zoo.

An exotic African serval cat was removed from his possessor’s filthy and feces-ridden home. The cat was spied in a window by a passing neighbor who later reported the incident to police. The cat was extremely emaciated and was eating Styrofoam in an attempt to survive. The cat was turned over to the local SPCA and to be placed in a zoo or animal sanctuary. The possessor was due in court on 11/19/07.

A man known to be a buyer and broker of venomous snakes was arrested after departing from a city bus with a box of baby timber rattlesnakes. State conservation officers and county police arrested him again for possession and transportation of dangerous reptiles without a permit.

A woman found a 7-ft-long python snake in her toilet and called authorities. Plumbers had to tear apart the downstairs’ neighbor’s pipes in an effort to retrieve the snake. The woman turned the snake over to a friend who kept it as a “pet.”

A man known for his passion for snakes miscalculated the safe space in a cage he was cleaning and suffered a bite from an eastern diamondback rattlesnake. The man drove himself to a nearby hospital where he received emergency treatment.

A woman heard her dog barking wildly late one evening, and upon investigation discovered a 1-1/2-ft-long snake nose to nose with her dog. Authorities later removed the snake and took it to the local PAWs facility. Neither the dog nor the snake was injured in the encounter.

A police officer turned wrangler after he was called to retrieve a 3-ft-long alligator spotted running through the neighborhood. The alligator was returned to her possessor and the possessor was cited for harboring a dangerous animal and ordered to find another home for her.