August 16, 2007 Suffolk, NY Suffolk County SPCA officials rescued two alligators from a Centerport man who supposedly purchased them in Pennsylvania. The alligators were sent to a licensed reptile sanctuary in a neighboring state. Reptiles
August 15, 2007 Los Angeles, CA Reggie, the Los Angeles Zoo’s 7-1/2-foot, 114-pound alligator escaped from his enclosure by scaling a 5-foot wall adjacent to a chain-link fence. He was found near a loading dock and returned to his habitat without incident. Reggie had followed a path that led him past a zoo gift shop. Fortunately he was found just prior to the zoo’s scheduled opening time. Corrective measures were taken to keep Reggie from scaling the wall again. Reggie was believed to be an abandoned ex-pet, whose owner dumped him in a lake after he grew too large. He had eluded capture at the lake for two years prior to May 2007 when he was finally corralled, and later brought to the Los Angeles Zoo. Reptiles
August 14, 2007 Phoenix, AZ Two endangered Mexican gray wolves escaped their enclosure at the Phoenix Zoo for about 2 hours, after strong storm wind gusts forced open a gap in the locked metal enclosure gate. Park rangers secured the zoo’s 50 visitors in a nearby gift shop. Rangers opened the enclosure gate, allowing one wolf to re-enter on her own. They then netted and tranquilized the second wolf. Visitors and wolves were unharmed. Other
August 13, 2007 Abilene, TX Tanzy, a 49-year-old African elephant, died at the Abilene Zoo. She had been receiving treatment with Xanax for stress, along with ibuprofen for arthritis-related comfort. Elephants
August 11, 2007 Gainesville, FL A couple’s rare white-bellied caique was killed by a 4-ft-long python. The rare female bird was nesting in her cage when the snake entered the cage and fatally constricted the bird. The couple contacted a zoo herpetologist who took possession of the snake. ReptilesOther
August 8, 2007 LaGuardia, NY Officials from the CDC took a pygmy marmoset from a man who successfully smuggled him from Lima, Peru under his hat and onto Spirit Airlines Flight #180 which actually landed in Fort Lauderdale, FL and then connected to another flight at LaGuardia Airport in New York. If it were not for the passengers noticing, the man might have escaped detection. Primates
August 6, 2007 Farmville, NC Mundson, a 7-year-old coatimundi who escaped the home of his possessor on 07/26/07, was back home again. A man and his daughter discovered Mundson and contacted the possessor who had placed flyers throughout the neighborhood. Other
August 4, 2007 Steam Boat, CO A domesticated serval escaped from a motorhome in the Heritage Park area and cannot be located. It is illegal to own a serval in CO and the guardian could face fines for bringing the animal into the state. Small Cats
August 2, 2007 Clark County, WA Animal Control officers captured Bonnie the alligator in a pond near the Bonneville Power Administration lines. Bonnie was the third alligator captured in Clark County in the past two weeks. One was surrendered by the possessor’s parents and two appeared to have been abandoned. Reptiles
August 2, 2007 Tupelo, MS A missing monkey who escaped from the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo received coverage on The David Letterman Show after the possessor offered a lavish reward for the return of Oliver the monkey. The news made Letterman’s Top Ten List. Primates