Chimp killed by bite from rattler

[NicoleRussell]

Article Launched: 08/01/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT

Chimp killed by bite from rattler
Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4119281

GRIFFITH PARK - A chimpanzee died last week at the Los Angeles Zoo after
being bitten by a rattlesnake, zoo officials said Monday.

The chimp died Wednesday after it was bitten by a rattler that fell into the
Mahali Mountain chimpanzee exhibit, zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs said.

The snake bit the chimp from a bush inside its habitat, Jacobs said, adding
that antivenin failed to save the primate. A necropsy is being performed on
the animal.

A zookeeper close to the situation gave a different account of the incident,
saying the chimp's minders waited hours before calling help.

The keeper, who asked to remain anonymous, said the 25-year-old male chimp
was bitten
at 1 p.m. and got a bad case of the shakes.

"They didn't call anyone til 3 p.m., and then they didn't even call a vet;
they called The Reptile House," according to the keeper.

The zookeeper said that instead of giving the chimp antivenin, zoo
veterinarians gave him Benadryl.

Rattlesnakes are common in rustic Griffith Park, Jacobs said, but
snake-related deaths of zoo animals are rare. Seven years ago, a pair of
lemurs died from snakebites, he said.

[NicoleRussell]

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http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9616395/detail.html

LA Zoo Defends Handling Of Chimp That Died Of Rattlesnake Bite

POSTED: 10:53 am PDT August 2, 2006

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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Zoo officials defended their handling of a
chimpanzee that died last week after being bitten by a rattlesnake that fell
into the Mahali Mountain exhibit.

"In this particular case, I think our actions were appropriate,"
veterinarian Curtis Eng said. "We responded very quickly when we got the
radio call. We were down there assessing the animal within about 10
minutes."

The chimp died last Wednesday and the results of a necropsy are still
pending.

A zookeeper who asked to remain anonymous told the Daily News that the chimp
was bitten at about 1 p.m., but officials didn't notify anyone for about two
hours. The zookeeper also said veterinarians administered Benadryl instead
of antivenin.

Zoo curator Jennie McNary said using Benadryl is not unusual, because
antivenin can be dangerous for animals.

"There is a problem with antivenin being a horse serum, that there might be
an allergic reaction to it that could be as deadly as the snake bite
itself," McNary said. "So to just go ahead and do that, not knowing how the
chimp is going to react, it's not the thing that you should just jump in to
do."

McNary said quickly isolated the chimp, which was walking uneasily and
trembling.

Zoo officials came under fire earlier this summer when Gita, a 48-year-old
Asian elephant, died. Zoo officials acknowledged that Gita was spotted in a
"down" position hours before action was taken.

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[deadliestformula]

Doesnt sound like a very good zoo. I am not a vet but benedryl for a venomous snake bite INSTEAD of antivenin sounds wrong.

[ChristopherD]

Well, venomous bites a lot of times will have nasty allergic reactions, so a benadryl to combat the allergic reactions is logical. I am not saying no antivenin was appropriate, but benadryl was also a good call. My question is if they were already giving the benadryl, why not give a huge dose of it and then let it take over the allergic reaction to the antivenin also?

[deadliestformula]

Originally Posted by fb4076

Well, venomous bites a lot of times will have nasty allergic reactions, so a benadryl to combat the allergic reactions is logical. I am not saying no antivenin was appropriate, but benadryl was also a good call. My question is if they were already giving the benadryl, why not give a huge dose of it and then let it take over the allergic reaction to the antivenin also?

Good point!

[ChristopherD]

It sounds to me like they just didn't want to spend the $ on the antivenin. It is expensive, and I don't know how much it would cost them to just replace the chimp, as sad as that sounds.

[Nonconformist]

It sounds to me like they didn't realize there was a rattlesnake in the chimp house... I mean unless they knew it was there - why would they ever suspect it was a rattlesnake bite at first?

On the other hand - HOW in the NAME OF GOD does a rattlesnake get out of it's enclosure... EVER? If it can get into the primate exhibit... it could easily have gotten out and bitten a person! And this has happened once BEFORE???!!

This is insane. That place should be shut down until they can prpoerly secure ALL of their potentially deadly animals.

Chimps are extremely expensive. I seriously doubt money was an issue.