Serpent Safari

Coordinates: 42°23′20″N 87°57′27″W / 42.38889°N 87.95750°W / 42.38889; -87.95750
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Serpent Safari
Map
Date opened1999
Date closed2013
LocationGurnee, Illinois, United States
Websitewww.serpentsafari.net

Serpent Safari was a reptile zoo located inside the Gurnee Mills Mall in Gurnee, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The zoo advertised itself as "America's Finest Reptile Zoo". The zoo housed some rare specimens, including the world's heaviest snake (over 375 lbs. as of February 2010), an albino alligator, and an alligator snapping turtle estimated at a 150 years old. A gift shop offered pets, a photo area where guests could get their photos taken with a large python or boa, and a reptile zoo with guided tours.

A female Burmese Python named "Baby" that lived 27 years at the Serpent Safari was confirmed by Guinness World Records as the heaviest living snake in captivity, weighing 183 kilograms (403 lb). After death, her actual length was determined to be 5.74 m (18 ft 10 in) which is the maximum length record for this species so far.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Barker, David G.; Stephen L. Barten, DVM; Jonas P. Ehrsam; and Louis Daddono. 2012. The Corrected Lengths of Two Well-known Giant Pythons and the Establishment of a new Maximum Length Record for Burmese Pythons, Python bivittatus. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 47(1):1-6, pdf.

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42°23′20″N 87°57′27″W / 42.38889°N 87.95750°W / 42.38889; -87.95750