Search Exotic Incidents Database

A 50-year-old man who secretly kept 12 “pet” snakes at his home was bitten by a 1-ft-long poisonous viper on his left index finger while milking it for venom. The man was rushed to the hospital for antivenin. The police confiscated all 12 snakes (8 rattlesnakes, 2 African puff adders, an African rhinoceros viper, and another snake unidentified) and were attempting to relocate them to the Bronx Zoo.

Bonnie, an 8-year-old Bengal tiger at Keepers of the Wild, mauled her trainer when he fed her. The trainer underwent surgery on his feet and legs.

A child riding an elephant at the Octoberfest festival knocked her head when she slipped in the seat and fell on her side. The girl was taken to the hospital for treatment of a possible concussion.

A 19-year-old man was killed by his “pet” python after the snake wrapped itself around the man’s neck. The snake was kept uncaged in the man’s apartment and was presumed safe since it never attacked the household cat.

A 3-week-old boy was admitted to the hospital with a fever, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea of 15 days’ duration. The boy was diagnosed with Salmonella, which he received from the family’s “pet” iguana.

A “pet” iguana attacked his possessor by biting her nose. The woman required more than 30 stitches and $14,000 in plastic surgery.

A “pet” lion escaped from her enclosure after being released during an apparent burglary. The lion chased a youth into a convenience store and then jumped into a pickup truck bed carrying another youth. In 1987, the lion bit a man repeatedly.

A small alligator was spotted in Mountain Lake in San Francisco. A long search by San Francisco Zoo officials, assisted by a professional alligator hunter from Florida, ended with the animal’s capture. It was placed on exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo before being flown to a Louisiana wildlife sanctuary and released.

A family’s 9-ft-long “pet” python, Calena, wrapped around a woman’s stomach and bit her buttocks. In order to free the woman, paramedics used a hacksaw to remove the snake’s head. The woman was 8 months pregnant and sought medical attention from her family physician. The python has not been kept in a cage.

Hattie, an Asian elephant on loan with Circus Vargas, died while in transit back to her owners, the Hawthorn Corp. Hattie was last made to perform on 8/3/96, the next day her legs gave way beneath her as she was being unloaded. She died 8/6/96 inside a transport trailer. Another Hawthorn elephant died 3 days earlier of tuberculosis.