Search Exotic Incidents Database

A 6-foot-long pet alligator was seized from a home by the Suffolk County SPCA after the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation received a complaint that the animal was being kept illegally on the property. The owner was charged by DEC Officers, and the alligator was transported to a wildlife sanctuary.

Police captured a 5-foot-long boa constrictor, who they believe was previously kept as a pet. The snake was adopted by a new owner.

A pet shop worker named Nathan Allen McClain paid a prostitute with cash from a Girl Scout donation jar and tipped the sex worker for her services with a galago (aka bushbaby) named Gooey. It is against the law to own an exotic animal without a license in Oregon.

Animal control officers recaptured a tiger seen wandering around the city wearing a collar and leash. A passerby said the tiger ran up to him, jumped and put her paws on his shoulders then started licking his face like a dog. Officers said the owner had to leave home because of flooding, and brought the tiger to a friend’s house, where she escaped.

A rhino named Bandhu escaped his enclosure and was able to walk into an enclosed yard where he found staff members and volunteers. No one was injured, and officials were able to return Bandhu to the interior enclosure.

50-80 venomous snakes kept in the garage of a private home died in a fire. Only one snake, a carpet python, survived. Firefighters were unaware of the presence of the snakes until they went into the garage.

The species of snakes included water moccasins, rattlesnakes, and a cobra. There were also other reptiles, including lizards and turtles.

Several dragon lizards and snakes escaped from glass enclosures in a tobacco shop after a car crashed into the storefront.

Four animals could not be found.

A 7-foot black python in a cage was abandoned by its owner near a garbage chute at a Queens apartment building. Police brought the python to the Bayside Animal Clinic, where the owner came to reclaim the snake.

A piebald ball python named Apple was stolen from a pet store called The Reptile Zone. The snake was anonymously returned less than a week later.

A 13-year-old Malayan tiger named Hati attacked and killed a zookeeper named Stacey Konwiser. She died from puncture wounds to her neck and spine after she entered an area that a tiger had access to. The tiger was tranquilized but not killed.