Remembering Snoop Logg

Posted January 16, 2024 by Amy Thompson

It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of Snoop Logg, the beloved Alligator Gar at Manatee Springs. This fall, the North America team noticed a subtle decline in Snoop’s appetite and unusual changes in his appearance. Through intensive collaboration and partnership between vet staff and the animal care team, we got creative in developing a progressive fish diagnostic and treatment plan which had never been attempted before at our zoo. Our goal was to do everything in our power to give Snoop the highest level of care and every opportunity to recover. This past week, keepers noticed that Snoop had developed a troubling swimming pattern, and he was struggling to maintain buoyancy. Snoop was taken to Med Vet for diagnostics including CT scan. After the procedure, Snoop was returned to his home at Manatee Springs. Unfortunately, Snoop passed on his own on Friday (1/12). Upon necropsy evaluation, Snoop did have extensive disease internally which overwhelmed his poor body. We are thankful that Snoop had a wonderful animal care team and vet team that went to great lengths to provide the highest level of veterinary care possible. While we are saddened that Snoop lost his battle with disease, we are thankful for all we have learned from him.

North America Head Keeper, Lindsay Garrett, remembers Snoop fondly:

Snoop Logg was the best ambassador for his species imaginable, and he was absolutely the catalyst of my love for all gars. He was engaging, charismatic, and goofy which are not traits most folks associate with alligator gar. We knew he was special during his first time in with divers. We were a little nervous since he had never been in with people, but then he curiously approached the divers while they were getting ready on the ledge. He quickly became our favorite with his quirky behaviors like playing with his food, stopping to stare at guests through the viewing windows, or photo bombing our pictures of manatees. As time went by, he became the manatee welcoming committee (we think he thought he was a manatee). With every new set of manatees that came in, he would wait at the door to the back pool so he could go check them out. He was often seen swimming his way into a pile of sleeping manatees or nosing his way all the way under their tails just to peak out the other side. Sometimes this would cause a little commotion during the manatees’ feeding sessions in the back pool, and if we ever heard a coworker yell “SNOOP!” in loving frustration, we knew exactly what he was up to.

As stories about him got shared, he got a bit of a fan-following with zoo guests and staff. People would often ask about him, partially due to attention from social media too, and I even had one guest say that he visited Manatee Springs solely to get pictures of Snoop. After his passing, someone from the overnights staff wrote that “Snoop was a legend.”  I hope he can stay a legend as we remember him going forward.