March 20, 2016 Philadelphia, PA A man was bitten by his pet rattlesnake. He was taken to the hospital, and the snake was transferred to an animal rescue center. Rattlesnakes are illegal to own without a permit in Philadelphia. Reptiles
November 18, 2015 Harlingen, TX A monkey running through a residential neighborhood bit an 84-year old woman. The woman was transported to a hospital and the monkey was captured. Primates
October 5, 2015 Newport, KY A pet store owner was attacked by a 15-foot long, 100 pound python while cleaning its cage. The snake wrapped around the man’s body, neck and face and the man had stopped breathing. Police were able to get the snake off the man and revive him. The store owner is being hospitalized. Reptiles
September 28, 2015 Mount Vernon, MO A police officer was called to pry a python off of a woman’s arm after the 5-foot pet python sank its teeth into her. Reptiles
August 12, 2015 Bryant, AR A pet marmoset bit a Target employee when she was brought into the store a woman. The monkey is under quarantine for rabies. While legal to possess a marmoset in Arkansas, the woman did not have the proper permits and claimed the animal was a service animal. No citations were given. Primates
July 15, 2015 Minneapolis, MN A man named Nathan Tow-Arnett was bitten on the forearm by his pet Mangshan viper. He survived, but it prompted a police investigation because owning venomous snakes is illegal in Minneapolis. Police found 22 snake eggs, 15 snakes (including 2 diamondback rattlers), 22 lizards, and many domestic cats in unsanitary conditions. 18 of those eggs – 13 of them vipers – later hatched at an animal control facility. The snakes are now living at Reptile Gardens zoo. Reptiles
June 25, 2015 Elkhart, TX A woman was bitten by a pet lemur kept by the owner of a consignment shop. The victim was taken to the hospital and treated for wounds and is currently undergoing ongoing treatment. The same lemur had previously bitten a postal worker in December of 2012. That victim was out of work for several weeks and required therapy. Primates
April 29, 2015 Muskogee, OK A pet zebra bit off a piece of a man’s nipple. The guardian did not have the proper permit and was ordered to re-home the zebra within 30 days. The woman has had the zebra for over 10 years and this was the first incident involving the animal. Other
March 26, 2015 Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC A pet Capuchin monkey named Carter escaped from his guardian’s car and was found roaming the parking lot of a hospital. He was captured after he bit the security guard trying to catch him. The monkey was confiscated and is being held in quarantine. Primates
January 30, 2015 San Antonio, TX Officials with Animal Care Services seized a juvenile Macaque after the guardian reportedly brought the monkey into a bank and the animal bit a female bank employee. The guardian fled the scene, but was later apprehended and the monkey was confiscated and put into quarantine. Local laws prohibit keeping exotics as pets. Primates