KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-After years of conservation work and a small career in acting, Edgar, Knoxville Zoo's American crow, died after deteriorating health. 

Most visitors are familiar with the zoo's commitment to global conservation and many have attended Knoxville Zoo's Bird Show, but few may know of the fame and hard work of Edgar crow during his time at Knoxville Zoo. During each Bird Show, Edgar would fly to a participating audience member to take a dollar bill out of their hand and return to a collection bucket. After the show, visitors could come to the front of the stage for Edgar to take money and drop it in the collection bucket. Throughout Edgar's time as part of the Bird Show, he collected over $8,900 from visitors for the Foothills Land Conservancy and Knoxville Zoo's bog turtle and songbird projects.

When Edgar was not performing in the Knoxville Zoo Bird Show, he did a little acting on the side. In 2005, he made his movie debut in the Academy and Grammy award winning film "Walk the Line" starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The movie chronicled the life of country music legend Johnny Cash. Edgar was one of the first "actors" featured in the first few minutes. He flew into a butt can and sifted through the contents and then flew off screen.

Edgar arrived at Knoxville Zoo from Cincinnati in July 1998 to be part of the zoo's popular Bird Show. Edgar is an American crow, which is considered to be among the most intelligent birds in the world. 

Knoxville Zoo is located off exit 392 from Interstate 40 and is open every day except Christmas Day. The zoo is nationally accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is committed to the highest standards in animal care and well-being, ethics, conservation, and education. Currently, the zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission and ticket sales stop one-hour before the zoo closes. Next-day admission is free after 3 p.m. For more information, please call 865.637.5331 ext. 300 or visit www.knoxville-zoo.org.