Little Rock Reptile Keeper to Appear on Discovery Channel

First posted on 10-06-2008

The Little Rock Zoo is proud to announce that reptile keeper Randal Berry will appear on Monday night’s episode of “Extreme Forensics” at 9 p.m. CST on the Investigation Discovery channel.

The episode, entitled “Silent Witness,” features a segment with Berry about the mysterious death of a Scottish business man named Garrick Wales who was found dead in his car parked near the Little Rock National Airport in May of 2004.

Not far from the site where Wales’ body was found, police found a box containing four of the world’s most venomous snakes: a forest cobra, green mamba, black mamba, and a twig snake. The Little Rock Zoo was called by police to handle the animals. Randal Berry was the reptile keeper who responded.

“Those snakes were some pretty serious animals,” Berry recalls.

Records show that Wales ordered the four snakes online from a reptile dealer in Florida and it is now believed that a venomous bite from one or more of the snakes killed Wales when he opened the box after picking it up at the airport. Monday’s episode of “Extreme Forensics” will investigate this strange case. For more information, log on to Investigation.discovery.com.

The Little Rock Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information, visit http://www.aza.org.