GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If the shoe fits, wear it. Don’t swallow it.
A 10 1/2-foot Nile crocodile swallowed a zipliner’s shoe in December at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, and according to the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the undigestible morsel has finally been removed.
Fortunately, the zipliner only lost the shoe and was safe. But the croc, named Anuket, needed a great deal of assistance to get rid of the footwear, WGFL reported.
The 341-pound female reptile was taken to the university on Feb. 5, the college said in a news release.
Previous attempts to remove the shoe had been unsuccessful. Dr. Garrett Fraess, a zoological medicine resident at the Gainesville college, tried to reach his arm through the crocodile’s esophagus but failed, the news release stated.
The veterinary team instead brought Anuket in for surgery, WGFL reported. Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, a large animal surgeon, attempted to manipulate the shoe through an incision and push it from the reptile’s stomach to her esophagus, but that failed, too, the college said.
Witnesses reported seeing Anuket the Nile crocodile swallowing the shoe again after spitting it up.https://t.co/ui4aV3Jr0q
— CBS4 News Gainesville (@mycbs4) February 15, 2021
Biedrzycki then performed a gastronomy, which allowed easier access to the crocodile’s stomach, the college said. The vet was able to remove the shoe, and Anuket was returned home after staying overnight.
Officials at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park are making sure Anuket’s diet does not include leather, WGFL reported.
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