ANIMALS
Zoo Pulls 70 Coins Out Of Leucistic Alligator’s Stomach, Reminds Guests About Designated Wishing Well
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
A Nebraska zoo is asking guests to stop throwing coins into bodies of water after staff pulled 70 coins out of the stomach of an alligator.
The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha said in a statement Friday evening that the coins were discovered during routine examinations of the zoo’s 10 American alligators. The exams include blood collection and radiographs, undertaken by the reptiles voluntarily after decades of establishing trust with these animals through proactive training efforts.
During the exams, veterinarians detected metal foreign objects in the stomach of one of the zoo’s most iconic residents: the 36-year-old leucistic American alligator Thibodaux.
Leucistic alligators appear white, but differ from albino alligators, 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.
On Thursday, Thibodaux underwent a procedure to remove the metal objects, and the staff found 70 U.S. coins.
With the help of his training, Thibodaux was anesthetized and intubated to allow us to safely manage him during the procedure, Christina Ploog, an associate veterinarian who led the procedure, said in a statement. 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.”
A follow-up X-ray confirmed all of the coins were successfully removed. Zookeepers say Thibodaux recovered well and returned to his habitat.
“Though a procedure like the one done on Thibodaux is not always common, its 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,” said Taylor Yaw, zoo veterinarian and director of animal health.
Zoo staff is reminding visitors not to throw coins or other objects into the bodies of water at the zoo.
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.
TMX contributed to this article.
