A Target customer found a 6-foot-long boa constrictor inside a shopping cart in Sioux City, Iowa, last week.
According to Newsweek, the animal was taken away after animal control was called. They believe the snake may have been left there intentionally by the owner.
Fitz, Louisville Zoo‘s 3-year-old elephant diagnosed with EEHV virus, has died.
EEHV, or elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, is an infectious herpesvirus only found in elephants, particularly young ones, who live in both captivity and in the wild. EEHV is considered the primary cause of calf mortality in the global captive Asian elephant population. While African elephants are also susceptible to their own EEHV’s, reported fatalities are fewer.
The zoo realized Fitz was sick after another elephant “repeatedly placed her trunk in Fitz’s mouth, which is abnormal behavior.” They also noticed he was lethargic. The Louisville Zoo sent a blood sample to the Smithsonian Zoo, which confirmed the presence of EEHV.
In Richmond, Virginia, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle – known for his appearance on Netflix’s “Tiger King” – was convicted last week on two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and two felony counts of conspiring to wildlife traffic.
He had been accused of illegally purchasing endangered lion cubs in Frederick County, Virginia, for display and profit at his zoo, Myrtle Beach Safari, in South Carolina.
The jury acquitted Antle of five counts of animal cruelty and the judge dismissed four additional animal cruelty charges against Antle and all charges against his two adult daughters.
The prosecutor said Myrtle Beach Safari’s lucrative petting zoo motivated Antle to maintain a steady supply of immature lion cubs that he purchased from Wilson’s Wild Animal Park near Winchester, calling the arrangement a “cub pipeline” from Virginia to South Carolina.
A young raccoon was euthanized to be tested for rabies after he was brought in to Maine a pet store for a nail trim. The raccoon had to be euthanized because the test requires an examination of tissue samples from the brain.
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials were concerned that several pet store customers were potentially exposed to the dangerous virus after handling and kissing the animal.