Search Exotic Incidents Database

US Border Patrol agents stationed at Texas’s Fort Brown Station made a startling discovery when they intercepted a man attempting to smuggle seven spider monkeys into the United States from Mexico.

Footage from the incident shows the young monkeys, all crammed into a small backpack, peering up at the agents. Unfortunately, this video represents the reality of both the legal and illegal wildlife trade.

A mother and baby giraffe died at Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas, just days apart from each other.

Penelope, a 10-year-old Masai giraffe, passed away in mid-July. Three days later, her one-month-old calf, Zuri, also died.

After Penelope died, the zoo began hand-rearing Zuri and transitioned her to a milk formula and attempted to bond her with another female giraffe named Jenny. The zoo veterinarian and staff had been monitoring her progress, but unfortunately, she passed away in the following days.

The zoo has ordered necropsies on both giraffes and will do an independent review of their deaths, which could take several weeks.

Five meerkats died at the Philadelphia Zoo recently after they were exposed to an unknown toxin from a dye routinely used to identify them. The zoo has used the topical agricultural dye called Nyanzol-D for over 30 years, said Rachel Metz, the zoo’s vice president of animal well-being.

The dye is used on other animals at the zoo. The zoo has been conducting an investigation in hopes of finding out what caused the animals’ deaths. The zoo has suspended use of the dye until officials find out what happened to the meerkats. Necropsy results are pending.

A 2-year-old critically endangered female addax named Terri has died at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Terri was found near a fence that separates the addax and ostrich habitats. Necropsy reports showed evidence of a cervical fracture, which the zoo said indicates something may have spooked Terri and caused her to run and collide with the fence. Terri leaves behind two herd companions, Jack and Janet.

Federal regulators have cited Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, for contributing to the death of a snow monkey last year.

Last August, an 8-year-old snow monkey went under anesthesia for a lengthy dental procedure at the zoo. The monkey was laid on an electric heating pad for the three-hour long procedure (a routine practice in veterinary hospitals to help animals maintain their core body temperature while under the effects of anesthesia).

According to USDA inspectors, the vet staff failed to monitor the temperature of the heating pad, causing the monkey to suffer a severe burn.

Thirteen days later, the monkey was euthanized after staff said he would not recover. The USDA issued a violation, and all veterinary staff were required to be retrained on the use of the heating pad.

A twelve-year-old female giraffe named Emara has died at the Calgary Zoo in Canada after a tragic accident.

Staff found Emara unresponsive in the early morning of May 19, leaning against the fence in the African Savannah Yard enclosure. One of Emara’s ossicones (or horns) had gotten caught on the cable around the enclosure, which likely led to her falling and breaking her neck.

A 5-year-old zebra named Stuart has just tragically died at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Witnesses at the scene stated that Stuart was running very quickly when he made a turn, lost his footing, and collided with a fence post in his enclosure. According to the zoo, Stuart was running and chasing the impalas in the habitat. Zoo officials stated that Stuart’s injuries were too severe, and he could not be saved. The zoo is still awaiting results to determine his cause of death.