Search Exotic Incidents Database

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.

54 stingrays died when there was a malfunction in the oxygen system at the Brookfield Zoo. The Ray exhibit will remain closed for the summer.

Zimm, a 3-year old macaque, escaped from her enclosure at the Memphis Zoo and took refuge in the zoo’s drainage system. She was caught two days later.

A grizzly bear at the Minnesota Zoo smashed the glass of his enclosure with a rock. No patrons were in danger.

Jaxon, a 2-year old sea lion, was found dead by staff. Necropsy results were inconclusive.

A University of Michigan student was trying to sell his wallaby on-line. Possession of the exotic animal was illegal due to a local ordinance, and he needed a permit to sell the animal, which he did not have. When contacted by PETA the student claimed he returned the wallaby to a breeder.

A pet African serval cat named Rex escaped from his home and has been missing.

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.

A California sea lion pup born at the zoo died shortly after birth. The female pup was the second offspring of Pearl and Zander, both 12 years old. Their first pup, a male born in 2002, died at one year of age due to liver failure.

A pet sulcata tortoise was stolen from a family. A man and a woman in a red pick-up were seen taking off with the family pet.