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Tuesday, November 19, 2002

The death of elephant keeper Mike Gatti yesterday at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium was the first time in the zoo's history that it had a human fatality.

But the zoo has experienced a number of mishaps and misfortunes over the years, some of which caused national headlines.

July 23, 1987

Alphie, a Japanese macaque monkey, escapes from the zoo and goes on the lam, drawing national attention while he eludes capture.

Jan. 27, 1988

Alphie is caught near Bridgeport, Ohio, 60 miles from Pittsburgh. He is put back on display in a wire-mesh cage in the zoo's children's section for two years.

March 1990

Chuckles, an Amazon River dolphin who lived to age 34 in captivity, bites the fingertip of a zoo volunteer who was giving him a sponge bath. Chuckles, who died in February 2002, bit trainers, a zoo volunteer and at least three AquaZoo visitors during his 32 years at the zoo.

Jan. 1, 1994

Zoo officials acknowledge that shortly after he was recaptured, Alphie tested positive for Simian B Virus, a blood-borne virus be transmitted to humans through bites or scratches. Despite the knowledge, the monkey continued to be displayed in the children's section for two years. Six months after she arrives at the zoo, Baker decides to remove Alphie and several other macques from display. They later are sent to a wildlife park in Florida.

September 1995

An artificial coral reef is installed in a shark tank. The reef, made of fiberglass, concrete and plastic, causes a chemical change in the tank's seawater and two black-tipped reef sharks die because of a change in the pH level of the seawater.

December 1996

Chuckles the river dolphin bites a woman who ignored zoo rules and pulled back a screen to pet him. Her companion strikes the dolphin with an umbrella until he releases the woman's bleeding hand.

April 2000

Two black-tip sharks die after a salt mixture in their tank is contaminated with cyanide. A vendor had substituted the wrong chemical.

June 10, 2000

The zoo opens a $17.4 million aquarium with 45,000 square feet of space. The exhibits are far from completion and some are not finished by August.

June 12, 2000

About 20 marine animals die, including 12 stingrays. The stingrays died after a worker slipped and damaged a sprinkler system, which leaked water into the stingrays' saltwater tank. Five sea horses died due to a malfunction in their tank and several jellyfish died.

July 11, 2000

Jim Prappas, curator of aquatic life, is fired. Prappas claimed some fish were rushed into their habitats prematurely to meet the deadline for the June 10 opening. Baker denies the allegation. Prappas also claimed that eight penguins were forced to live in a refrigerated truck for 10 days because their habitat was not ready. Baker insisted the penguins were well cared for.

July 12, 2000

The day after Prappas is fired, a puffer fish and panther grouper die due to high levels of ozone in their tank. The fish died when the ozone machine, which disinfects and sterilizes tank water, was turned on for the first time.

Dec. 1, 2000

A malfunctioning valve in an ozone machine causes the deaths of three sharks.

Feb. 5, 2001

A 150-pound female gorilla crosses a wide moat and scales a 14-foot wall to visit a large outdoor concession area near the gorilla exhibit. About 250 zoo visitors are kept inside buildings for 45 minutes while keepers lure the gorilla into a ladies' restroom and inject her with a tranquilizer.

Nov. 15, 2002

Zoo officials announce that eight sharks acquired in September all died in October. Two sharks were eaten by other sharks, two died of bacterial infections and the remaining four sharks died being de-wormed.