In the early days of the zoo business, the heating and ventilating systems of the reptile houses was nothing like we have today. They were originally wood-fired or coal-fired and then they banked the fires at night so the buildings were drafty. They were cold. So there was a high mortality in some of the tropical creatures, particularly with snakes and lizards. And so the collections were bolstered with native snakes. You got a lotta native snakes. Well they may have a boa or a python, a cobra, some exotic snakes. They try to have representative collection of the snakes in Missouri and Illinois, both Lincoln Park and St. Louis reptile houses were famous for having a representative collection of all the snakes indigenous to their state.
