UF vets pull shoe from gut of 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile
LAKE MARY, Fla. - This is one patient you definitely want under well-supervised anesthesia.
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket.
The procedure was performed on Feb. 5, almost two months after the beast swallowed the shoe that had fallen off of a zipliner at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, where the crocodile lives.
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
"Anuket was witnessed eating the shoe, and subsequently seen regurgitating it – then eating it right back up again," read a Facebook post by UF Veterinary Hospitals.
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Previous efforts to flush out her sneaker had been unsuccessful.
"During her most recent visit to UF, zoo medicine resident Garrett Fraess initially attempted to remove the shoe by reaching his arm up and through the crocodile’s esophagus but was unsuccessful. The zoo medicine team then took Anuket for surgery, where Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, a large animal surgeon, attempted to manipulate the shoe through an incision and push it from the stomach to the esophagus, where Fraess hoped to be able to feel and grab hold of the shoe to pull it out."
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine]
That effort failed, according to staff. A gastrotomy, or an artificial external opening into the stomach, was then performed by Dr. Biedrzyckiwhich allowing easier access to the shoe.
Staff at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine took on the task of removing a shoe from the gut of a 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, named Anuket. [Photo credit: University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine] (University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine)
After an overnight stay, Anuket returned home and is now recuperating at the park.
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St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park's zip line attraction, called Crocodile Crossing, covers seven acres, where guests zip through treetops with "live alligators and crocodiles right under your toes," the park says.
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