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Whatever
Happened...
QUESTION: What ever happened to the brown tree snake "Sam?" Sam the training
brown tree snake died of
natural causesANSWER: Sam, the snake nicknamed by Gov. Ben Cayetano, died Jan. 3 of natural causes, said Myron Isherwood Jr., branch chief of the state Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch.
Sam was legally brought in on a commercial airliner from Guam last October to train four beagles to inspect planes, luggage and cargo for snakes.
The Legislature passed a bill two years ago that allowed the animal to be imported.
"We were able to do training with the existing canines over a five-week period," said Isherwood.
Sam was placed in a heavy cloth, knotted bag and put in a double-locked box when taken out of the building. A radio transmitter was attached to the snake so the inspectors would be able to track it if it escaped. The snake was kept in a multi-locked room at the Plant Quarantine Branch.
Isherwood said they are awaiting another live neutered snake to arrive in Hawaii.
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