July 27, 2009 Big Bear City, CA Firefighters responding to a 911 call found an unidenified man in his vehicle Highway 38 east of Onxy Summit. The man was airlifted to Loma Linda University for treatment of a bite from his poisonous “pet” Mexican Beaded Lizard. Reptiles
July 24, 2009 Los Angeles, CA Asali, a 26-year-old female Masai giraffe, died after complications involving a stillborn calf. Asali had lived at the Los Angeles Zoo most of her life and had had 12 calves since 1988. Other
July 24, 2009 Portsmouth, MA An escapted 8-ft-long python snake, missing briefly from the Island Park section of town, was discovered inside her possessor’s home. Reptiles
July 22, 2009 Lawrence, KS Pittsburgh State football player Joe Windscheffel suffered a compound fracture to his forearm as a result of a zebra attack as he attempted to move four zebras away from a fence he was painting on a farm. Other
July 19, 2009 Hingham, MA Authorities spent three hours searching for an escaped 10-ft-long boa constrictor on the property of a man. The snake was recaptured. Charges against the possessor were pending. Reptiles
July 19, 2009 Calhan, CO According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, zookeepers failed to obtain veterinary care for a tiger (Sundar) and a cougar (Risky) with clear medical problems, and instead had a volunteer euthanize the two animals. Big Cats
July 16, 2009 Quincy, IL A 4-ft-long boa constrictor escaped and was still loose when his possessor, a 54-year-old man, was charged with possessing a restricted animal without a permit and failing to report the animal’s escape. Reptiles
July 8, 2009 Memphis, TN A 1-day-old elephant calf died at the Memphis Zoo after stumbling and falling. The mother, Asali, tried to lift her calf and mortally injured her with her tusk. Zoo veterinary staff attended to the calf’s injuries but she died around 11:00am that morning. Elephants
July 1, 2009 Oxford, FL A 2-year-old girl was strangled by 12-ft-long Burmese python. The snake escaped from the family’s glass aquarium overnight and attacked the child. Authorities investigated the possibility that the snake escaped even after a parent stabbed it. Reptiles
June 20, 2009 Green Bay, WI A 17-year-old boy was bitten by a rattlesnake at his home. Local police and human officers removed about 13 venomous reptiles and amphibians, along with other non-venomous reptiles. The boy was hospitalized and was listed in stable condition. Reptiles