The San Francisco Zoo opened a new exhibit over the weekend, the South American Tropical Rainforest Exhibit, but the zoo is missing one of its inhabit
The San Francisco Zoo opened a new exhibit over the weekend, the South American Tropical Rainforest Exhibit, but the zoo is missing one of its inhabitants and officials suspect it may have been eaten by a bird. The animal, a small green snake called the Baron’s racer (Philodryas Baroni), was noticed missing on July 11, the day before the grand opening. It resides in an exhibit with birds, smoke of which are able to fly around the exhibit and some of which feed on small reptiles, such as this species of snake. Zoo officials speculate that the snake was eaten by a bird, or has gone into hiding in the exhibit as they have been unable to locate the small, venomous snake.
Herping for Venomous Snakes in Uganda
The Baron’s racer is a rear-fanged colubrid snake that grows to about 150 to 180 centimeters. It is an arboreal snake that is active during the day and is not considered aggressive. It feeds on mice, lizards, and amphibians and is native to forests and woodlands of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.
John B. Virata keeps a western hognose snake, a ball python, two corn snakes, a king snake, and two leopard geckos. His first snake, a California kingsnake, was purchased at the Pet Place in Westminster, CA for $5. His first pet reptile was a green anole that arrived in a small box via mail order. Follow him on Twitter @johnvirata
