Unknown event kills 33 reptiles at Tennessee zoo
Knoxille, Tenn. — Zoo Knoxville officials said Saturday 33 reptiles died at the zoo, including rare and endangered species, from an unknown event earlier this week.
Lisa New, president and CEO of Zoo Knoxville, said Sunday night that "the deaths are not believed to be pathogenic but due to an environmental cause," adding that the zoo is still awaiting further necropsy results.
Zoo workers found 30 snakes and a lizard, all housed in the same building in the zoo’s reptile area, dead on Wednesday morning. The zoo’s animal clinic and veterinarians from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine were called in to investigate. The surviving animals were evacuated from the building.
New said in a news release Saturday that the loss was a tragic event for the zoo and that several endangered or threatened species breeding programs were lost.
“This is a devastating and catastrophic loss to our zoo,” New said. “These animals were important ambassadors who helped so many people understand the role snakes and lizards play in the balance of nature.
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“We also lost breeding programs for several endangered and threatened species,” she added. “It is especially difficult for our herpetologists who have dedicated their careers to caring for and advocating for these animals.”
The building where the event happened was home to 52 animals before the event and has been closed while an investigation continues. No other buildings in the reptile area were affected. Three critically endangered species were lost during the event, the Louisiana pine snake, the Catalina Island rattlesnake and the Aruba Island rattlesnake. Popular snakes killed included a forest cobra and an albino Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
Zoo officials said the building was under inspection by KUB and other agencies to try to determine what caused the deaths. What caused the deaths, however, did not target just snakes, but the building housed a majority of the snake population.
Some of the animals lost were on exhibit in the building, but others were not. So far, no correlation has been drawn between exhibit status and survival.