Search Exotic Incidents Database

Bedford, MA – Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford is mourning the death of a 66-year-old elephant that has been a member of the zoo for nearly 40 years. The zoo announced the death of Ruth, an Asian elephant who arrived at the facility in 1986. Ruth entered hospice in October due to what the zoo described as “consistent, age-related decline in her mobility.” She had a condition called proliferative pododermatitis, which causes excess tissue to grow around the nails, toes, or pads of her feet. Conditions in captivity, including limited opportunity to move over the large distances that elephants in the wild would, and standing/walking on hard substrates like concrete likely worsened her condition.

Simpsonville, SC – Two wallabies are back at their facility after escaping a petting zoo during a holiday event. Officials in Simpsonville said the wallabies, Creed and Sylvester, escaped the petting zoo at the Nights of Lights event at Heritage Park. The event is a walk-through Christmas event that has rides and ice skating along with the petting zoo.

A spokesperson for the city said Creed was recaptured Thursday, but the search continued Friday for Sylvester. Sharon Bice, a manager at CCNB Amphitheater, said employees were out looking for Sylvester on Thursday night. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office also brought in drones to help with the search, but efforts were called off shortly before 9:30 p.m. Police said Friday that Sylvester had been spotted, tranquilized and safely returned to the petting zoo.

Officials don’t yet know how the wallabies escaped their cages.

Albuquerque, NM – Rozie the Asian elephant at the ABQ BioPark is stable and recovering after giving birth to a stillborn calf early Tuesday morning. The gestation period for an Asian elephant is 18-22 months. Rozie reached 18 months in mid-October, prompting staff to watch her around the clock. At around 9 p.m. Monday, they reported she went into labor. After around three-and-a-half hours in labor, they delivered the calf. However, the calf wasn’t moving.

Rozie saw this and tried to get the calf to wake up while her mother, Alice, stood by. After multiple attempts, animal care and veterinary staff decided to enter the birthing barn and tend to the calf.

That is when the staff pronounced the calf dead. According to the BioPark, they may not know the conclusive cause of death for several weeks.

Raleigh, NC – The incident occurred near Wilson by Raleigh, North Carolina, on Interstate 95. According to authorities, a truck driver collided with a camper. Inside the camper, alongside five people, there was an array of animals including 28 snakes, five lizards, a pair of turtles, two dogs, and a cat. Local media reported that 28 snakes, including venomous ones like pythons and rattlesnakes, slithered onto the street.

These animals were being transported to a show, and their owner, fulfilling an order for a company organizing such displays, was also transporting bearded dragons and turtles. Although no animal was harmed in the accident, they scattered disoriented on the road. They managed to capture all of the escaped animals safely.

Boston, MA – A gorilla at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, who was experiencing serious health issues and underwent a medical examination on Thursday, has now died. Kitombe, the western lowland gorilla known by zoo staff as “Kit,” was 38 years old when he died Thursday evening at the zoo. The zoo said his care team had put him under anesthesia and was closely monitoring his condition.

According to a zoo spokesperson: “Following a rapid decline in his health yesterday, the decision was made to perform a comprehensive exam today to try and determine the cause of his recent health issues, which included a chronic cough, loss of weight and muscle mass, increased lethargy and trembling,” the statement said. “While Kitombe had responded positively to antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication, the worsening of his condition necessitated the exam to better identify the cause of his current ailments and what, if any, options there were for treatment…While the risks associated with anesthesia are extremely high for Kit, given his age and current health condition, the examination is critical.”

The zoo said Kitombe underwent chest radiographs, routine blood tests, a urinalysis, an echocardiogram by a consulting veterinary cardiologist, and electromyograms by a consulting veterinary neurologist before the decision was made to humanely euthanize him due to his poor prognosis and serious quality of life concerns.

Kitombe had also long been treated for glaucoma as well as heart disease, both of which are managed by medication.

Cardiac disease is the biggest health issue affecting male gorillas in human care, the zoo said, which is why routine monitoring, proactive care and cardiac exams are so important. Kiki and three of Kitombe’s offspring, along with another gorilla, had been able to visit him, coming and going from the exhibit.

Tacoma, WA – Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo (PDZ) announced that one of its penguin chicks died after a number of health complications. Periwinkle was six months old. He and his brother, Lavender, were the first two penguin chicks to successfully hatch from their parents and were the first penguins to be artificially incubated at PDZ.