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Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by tigers9 on August 8, 2008
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http://www.click2houston.com/news/17138169/detail.html
Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
POSTED: 6:23 pm CDT August 8, 2008
GALVESTON, Texas -- Part of Moody Gardens was shut down Friday after a snake went missing, KPRC Local 2 reported.
The 10-inch African Bush Viper was reported as missing Friday morning, one month after it disappeared previously.
Officials said the snake first went missing from its tank near the facility's public entrance on July 8. It was later found on a light above its enclosure.
The locks on the cage were changed a short time later to heighten security to the snake's exhibit.
The Rainforest Pyramid was closed during the search.
The general manager said it appears that the new locks were tampered with.
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by iLuVeNoM on August 8, 2008
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This is the exact same snake that went AWOL the last time? Amazing...
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by tigers9 on August 8, 2008
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supposedly, same AZA facility, same cage, same snake...
Lets name him Houdini…
Anyway, weird week, 3 tiger attacks in one week, all workers, aka occupational hazard, 2 in MO, one in IL, WTF is going on??? Too many t storms and high humidity?
But AR are already using it as an excuse to ban all exotic pets. I am like, these were commercial facilities and once again, the scapeGOATS are private/pet owners. I think I need to learn goat language MEEEBEE to deal with all of this
Z
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by Rob_Carmichael on August 9, 2008
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Z, as I said in my email, every facility makes mistakes....but, you learn from them, correct them and make sure they don't happen again. To have a bush viper (and the same one) escape the same exhibit for a second time is utterly ridiculous - almost inexcusable. When I heard they were replacing locks the first time I laughed - the locks had nothing to do with that tiny little bush viper from escaping - they couldn't push their way through toilet paper. Instead, there was either a serious design flaw (gaps), and/or, inept staff. Hopefully, they'll get their act together.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by RyanM on August 9, 2008
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One venomous escape is inexcusable,two is beyond comprehension for anybody, private or AZA.
If this were not an AZA facility the usual few individuals that frequent the venomous forums would be quick to remind the private keepers that stricter laws should be enacted to prevent such things and it's our fault because we don't police ourselves, the only ones to blame will be ourselves Etc..,then they remind us how lucky we are that they support us!
The truth is when you invite the public to view your collection you have even less of a margin for error and a much higher potential for repercussions in the form of new regulations and affecting the publics mindset about venomous keepers private or professional.
Many people will reason,If a professional,accredited AZA Zoo with big expensive enclosures can't keep their animals from escaping then how on earth could my neighbor possibly keep his snakes from escaping!
Never allow cage decorations or design to interfere with safety and security.Never put a venomous animal in anything that it can escape from. These are basic beginner concepts that would have likely prevented
this situation.
It is often pointed out that nothing private keepers do will affect AZA facilties,unfortunately the opposite is not true.
Ryan Mccullah
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by Cro on August 9, 2008
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How does this Moody Garden get AZA certification in the first place ?
It sounds like the people running the reptile exhibit are a bunch of nit-whits.
(After the viper disappeared a month ago, biologists changed the padlock and restricted access. It appears that someone removed the entire padlock and the latch that attaches it to the door and then replaced it clumsily, said Greg Whittaker, animal husbandry manager. The screws attaching the latch to the door were askew Friday morning, and paint around the padlock was chipped, Hamachek said. Galveston police have confiscated the lock and are dusting for fingerprints, Whittaker said.)
They are using a hasp with exposed screws and padlock, exposed to the public, to secure the venomous reptile exhibit ???
(Once again, Moody Gardens staff took X-rays of 6-foot-long Gaboon vipers that share the exhibit to determine whether they swallowed the smaller snake, Hamachek said. The X-rays showed no signs of the bush viper, Whittaker said.)
Sounds like we are dealing with Veternarians, and not Herpetologists. Also, they call them "Biologists" in the article, which could be far worse, LOL.
(When asked about the possibility that a staffer snatched the snake, Whittaker said they wondered about that when the snake went missing a month ago. Biologists found the snake 36 hours later curled on the mesh top of its enclosure. To prevent future escapes, Whittaker installed a new padlock and sealed the many gaps between the glass sides and mesh top of the enclosure with pieces of plywood.)
"many gaps between the glass sides and mesh top of the enclosure" ?????
They should have never put arboreal snakes in an exhibit that was not secure. Sealing it after the fact shows that the people working there have no business keeping venomous reptiles.
(The exhibit is not monitored by video surveillance, and Moody Gardens does not run criminal background checks on its employees. This would not be the first time a Moody Gardens animal was stolen. A Moody Gardens electrician pleaded guilty to stealing 15 federally protected tortoises in 2004.)
Again, I wonder how this outfut got certified by the AZA.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by FSB on August 9, 2008
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Sounds like Moody Gardens could use a mangement overhaul in their reptile dept. I'm available!
Seriously, I once saw a woman protesting to her husband that there was no way she was going into the reptile house at the National Zoo. I thought to myself, "how ridiculous - they're all safely caged." Such incidents undermine the public's faith in all zoos. Escape-proof, tamper-proof cages have to be the first priority in any public exhibit.
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by Cro on August 9, 2008
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Fred, I am available for a reptile management position also, but who would want to live in Galveston ?
You would probably have a drunken Glen Campbell roaming the streets at night, singing you know what, LOL !
The only good thing about Galveston would be that you would not be all that far from Trans-Pecos, Texas.
Perhaps we should get together and build the Georgia Serpentarium ? Model it after the Edisto, and Cape Fear Serpentariums ???
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by Rob_Carmichael on August 9, 2008
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Some exhibit halls don't have the luxury of back opening cages. At our place we have that very challenge: some are back opening but others have front opening cages with exposed locks. BUT, the big difference is that my animal keeper staff are always on the floor during our public drop in hours and we limit the venomous exhibit hall to a certain number so that we can keep the area supervised. Supervision is the key in our case.
I don't think this is case of bashing AZA facilities; most still take far more precautions than the private sector but it also shows that just because a place is accredited, doesn't mean its immune to mistakes. Some zoos may just be better off not having venomous if they can't properly keep them or supervise them thus ensuring public safety.
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RE: Missing Snake Shuts Down Galveston Exhibit
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by tigers9 on August 9, 2008
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Cro asked:<<Again, I wonder how this outfut got certified by the AZA>>
===
OMG;This question reminded me of a scene form one of my favorite movies of all times: Return of the Pink Panther, dialogue between Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) and his boss Dreyfus after Clouseau got fooled and distracted by ‘blind’ beggar with monkey while the bank was being robbed.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072081/quotes
[after an incident involving a blind beggar]
Dreyfus: The beggar was the lookout man for the gang.
Clouseau: That is impossible. How can a blind man be a lookout?
Dreyfus: [Insinuating Clouseau] How can an idiot be a police officer?
Clouseau: Well, all he has to do is enlist...
Dreyfus: Shut up!
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