The Wildlife Center is sad to announce the death of Corny, an education Red Cornsnake, on April 3, 2013. Corny was almost 17 years old. In January 2013, Corny was diagnosed with cancer. On April 3, changes in Corny’s tumor were significant enough that the team decided to humanely euthanize the snake.
Corny was taken from the wild as a newly hatched snake in Charlotte County, Virginia. She was kept for more than a year before her captors brought her to the Wildlife Center in June 1997. Because Corny spent the first year of her life – a critical development stage for many snakes – in captivity, she lacked numerous skills that are essential for survival in the wild.
Corny became a well-loved and well-traveled education animal ambassador. It’s difficult to calculate just how many people Corny met during her career at the Wildlife Center. Center staff members often used her for off-site programs; Corny visited hundreds of schools and libraries throughout her years at the Center. Because Corny, along with the Center’s other education reptiles, was housed in the Center’s library, she also was able to “meet” most of the visitors who came to the Center for on-site programs and open houses.
Corny participated in her final off-site program in December 2012 at Stony Point Elementary in Keswick, Virginia. She was one of three animals featured in a “Whoo’s Awake in the Night” program, a presentation about nocturnal animals and their adaptations. Corny was a staff favorite due to her calm nature – she was an easy snake to handle.
Thanks, Corny, for your years of service for the Wildlife Center. You will be missed.