Zoo Finds 70 Coins Inside White Alligator's Stomach, Allegedly Thrown Into Water By Visitors
Doctors at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha found the coins. They were part of a routine examination of the zoo's ten American alligators.
Authorities at a zoo in the US state of Nebraska were left shocked after they found 70 coins inside the stomach of a white alligator.
Veterinary doctors at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha came across the unusual find while conducting a routine examination of their alligators.
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Coins found during routine check
As part of the routine examinations, the ten American alligators at the zoo including Thibodaux, a 36-year-old leucistic alligator underwent blood collection and radiographs.
According to the zoo, leucistic alligators are white in colour but are different from albinos, which feature pink eyes and a complete lack of pigment. Leucism produces a white coloration, but leucistic alligators can have patches of normal skin coloration. They also have blue eyes.
70 coins removed
During the examination, vets discovered a number of what they described as "metal foreign objects" in the animal's stomach.
Following this, Thibodaux underwent a surgical procedure and the vets removed 70 US coins which had a value of $7.
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
¡°With the help of his training, Thibodaux was anesthetized and intubated to allow us to safely manage him during the procedure. A plastic pipe was placed to protect his mouth and safely pass the tools used to access the coins, such as a camera that helped us guide the retrieval of these objects,¡± the zoo said in a statement.
A second x-ray confirmed that Thibodaux who is now recovering from the surgery has no metal pieces left inside.
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Don't throw coins into water
According to the zoo, the coins could have been thrown into the water by visitors.
The zoo has urged visitors not to throw coins into any bodies of water at the facility.
"Any loose change can instead be turned in for a souvenir coin in one of the several machines around the Zoo or in our coin wishing well located in the atrium of the Desert Dome," the Zoo said.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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