ATLANTA — Georgia wildlife officials plan to inspect an Atlanta zoo after a rattlesnake was able to escape and slither around a city neighborhood, where it was discovered by a 2-year-old boy.
After spending Saturday afternoon at the nearby park that surrounds Zoo Atlanta, the Mower family returned to a house they're renovating across the street from the zoo. When their toddler, Pierce, ran out onto the porch, his mother followed and saw the venomous snake just feet away from her son.
"It's hard because I keep thinking about how close my child and I were to that snake," Marie Mower told The Associated Press Tuesday.
Zoo Atlanta staff noticed the female tiger rattlesnake was missing during a routine check late Friday, but have said they believed it probably remained inside the building where it was caged. Due to the reptile's nocturnal nature and dislike of people, they said they believed that if it had exited the building it wouldn't likely be a significant danger to anyone.
The Mowers thought about calling animal control but were worried the snake would wriggle away and continue to lurk outside their house. Instead, Guy Mower grabbed an extra floorboard and used it to kill the snake, his wife said.
Marie Mower said she wishes the zoo had done a better job of notifying neighbors.
"No alert or no signs could have prevented the snake from ending up on our porch, but if we'd known it was missing from the zoo, my husband might not have had to kill the snake," she said.
Marie Mower saw media reports about the missing snake late Sunday and called the zoo early Monday. A zoo staff member sent to the house immediately confirmed that it was the missing rattlesnake.
Zoo officials called the Mowers to apologize after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday that her son had found the snake, Mower said.
Zoo president and CEO Raymond King also issued a public apology Tuesday afternoon.
Zoo officials have said a staff member did not properly secure a door to the cage holding the snake, which had been confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was being housed temporarily at the zoo.
"As a result of this unfortunate event, we are re-evaluating our procedures and protocols regarding animal management and how we communicate to the public, our Members, our guests and neighbors," King wrote. "We apologize to anyone who was unaware of the incident, and we regret any worry felt by our community."
An inspection team from Georgia's Department of Natural Resources will be sent to Zoo Atlanta in the next week or two to investigate the escape, which violates the zoo's state-issued permit to keep wild animals, DNR spokeswoman Lauren Curry said.
The inspection should take about a day and a letter containing the team's findings will be sent to the zoo within a week and will be made public.
Authorities have not decided whether the zoo will face any penalties, but they generally take into account a facility's history and the nature of the violation, Curry said. By law, state wildlife officials can impose a range of sanctions, ranging from a letter ordering a zoo to make improvements to seizing its animals, imposing a $1,000 fine per violation and revoking its permit for two years in an extreme case.
Georgia is home to six species of venomous snakes, according to the website of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division. The tiger rattlesnake is not among them, but comes from the southwestern U.S.
