A Nebraska zoo warned visitors against tossing coins into animal enclosures. This caution came after veterinarians discovered $7 worth of coins inside an alligator’s stomach.
Staff at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha conducted surgery on a white alligator. During the procedure last Thursday, they extracted 70 U.S. coins from the reptile’s stomach. The coins were discovered after routine exams detected “metal foreign objects” inside the alligator.
The zoo shared on social media that veterinarians discovered metal objects in Thibodaux’s stomach during routine care, including blood collection and radiographs. Thibodaux is a 36-year-old leucistic American alligator and one of the zoo’s iconic residents.
Christina Ploog, an associate veterinarian at the zoo, led the procedure. She emphasized to local outlet KETV the harmful consequences of throwing coins into animal exhibits. Guests may not realize the potential danger. She highlighted the potential danger of ingestion by the alligators and the presence of harmful chemicals in some coins.
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The Lincoln Journal Star reported that the alligators’ movement in the water could stir up coins. This action makes the coins easier to ingest. The zoo emphasized that guests should refrain from throwing coins into any bodies of water at the zoo.
“Guests should not throw coins into any bodies of water at the zoo,” the release stated.
Ploog explained that Thibodaux was anesthetized and intubated for the procedure. She mentioned they would conduct baseline heavy metal blood screening to check for potentially harmful metals like lead or zinc.
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“We’ll go ahead and get some baseline heavy metal blood screening to make sure that the metal they were eating isn’t anything more dangerous, like lead or zinc or something like that,” Ploog told KETV.
According to the outlet, Jordan McCarthy and his sons arrived at the zoo on Sunday to see the alligators but found the pathway to their exhibit closed. During the operation, they witnessed a team of vets working on Thibodaux, the white alligator.
McCarthy recounted how the vets described using a PVC tube to retrieve the coins from Thibodaux’s throat. “They said they had to shove a tube of PVC down his throat so they could get a bunch of coins out,” McCarthy told the outlet.
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Following the operation, an X-ray confirmed that Thibodaux was free of coins. The zoo reported that he has since recovered. The zoo said, “he’s recovered well from the procedure and is back in his habitat.”
Dr. Taylor Yaw, the zoo’s veterinarian and director of animal health, praised the animal care and health teams for their dedication to providing excellent animal care.
“Though a procedure like the one done on Thibodaux is not always common, it’s a great example of what our animal care and animal health teams do every day across our campus to provide excellent care to our animals,” he said.
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