James P. Bacon Jr., general manager of the San Diego Zoo and an authority on reptiles and amphibians, died Friday after returning from a morning run. He was 46 years old.

His body was discovered in his apartment by zoo employees who became worried when he did not appear for work, a spokesman for the zoo, Chris Peterson, said Saturday.

Mr. Bacon had been general manager of the zoo since January, and was also the general curator of herpetology for the Zoological Society of San Diego, a private group which oversees operation of the zoo.

A preliminary coroner's finding said Mr. Bacon died of natural causes, the spokesman for the zoo said.

Mr. Bacon is survived by his wife, Betty Rae Bacon; two daughters, Alison Elizabeth and Sarah Ellen; his mother, Maureen Bacon of Barrington, Ill., and a brother, Gary W. Bacon of Woodbridge, Va.

James P. Bacon Jr., general manager of the San Diego Zoo and an authority on reptiles and amphibians, died Friday after returning from a morning run. He was 46 years old.

His body was discovered in his apartment by zoo employees who became worried when he did not appear for work, a spokesman for the zoo, Chris Peterson, said Saturday.

Mr. Bacon had been general manager of the zoo since January, and was also the general curator of herpetology for the Zoological Society of San Diego, a private group which oversees operation of the zoo.

A preliminary coroner's finding said Mr. Bacon died of natural causes, the spokesman for the zoo said.

Mr. Bacon is survived by his wife, Betty Rae Bacon; two daughters, Alison Elizabeth and Sarah Ellen; his mother, Maureen Bacon of Barrington, Ill., and a brother, Gary W. Bacon of Woodbridge, Va.