JOURNAL CONSTITUTION (Atlanta, Georgia) 13 September 10 In wake of snake escape, DNR advises Zoo Atlanta to review protocols (Christian Boone)

A state Department of Natural Resources team that investigated Zoo Atlanta following last month's escape of a venomous rattlesnake confirmed human error was to blame.

The tiger snake ended up roughly 100 yards away on the front porch of a Grant Park couple, where it was clubbed to death by homeowner Guy Mower. His 2-1/2 year-old son was the first person to encounter the nocturnal viper but was unharmed.

The caretaker responsible for the reptiles "failed to secure the enclosure containing the tiger rattlesnake," DNR Wildlife Resources Division assistant chief John Bowers wrote Monday in a letter to Dwight Lawson, the zoo's deputy director. "This allowed the tiger rattlesnake to escape into the quarantine building and because the building was also being used to hold a small mammal that had access to an outside enclosure, the tiger rattlesnake was able to escape the building."

The employee in question was disciplined, Lawson said. The snake -- which has a toxicity considered the highest of all rattlesnake venom -- was loose for one day, though the zoo didn't learn of its whereabouts until three days after it escaped.

"Specifically, it is critical that all reptile enclosures or containers be secured with a locking mechanism that prevents the animal from escaping," Bowers wrote.

As for the other holding facilities, the zoo met or exceeded minimum standards, the DNR team concluded.
In wake of snake escape, DNR advises Zoo Atlanta to review protocols

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