An alligator from a popular zoo could have paid for tourists’ behavior with its life. 70 coins were taken out of his stomach

Zoo officials said an alligator at the Omaha, Nebraska, zoo late last week needed fairly urgent surgery. All because there were dozens of coins in his stomach. They had to be removed from here.

The 36-year-old reptile underwent the procedure and had as many as 70 coins removed from it. He had to eat them before facility staff safely removed them from his enclosure.

70 coins were pulled from the alligator’s stomach

“A plastic tube was placed and tools and a camera were inserted to help remove the objects from the stomach,” said veterinarian Christina Ploog.

The coins were found during a routine examination of the animal. All of them were successfully removed. After the procedure, the alligator recovered and I am now in my habitat.

Ploog believes the coins were most likely thrown into the animal’s habitat by visitors.

“Guests should not throw coins into water tanks at the zoo,” the facility said in a statement.

This is a rare species of alligator

According to the Audubon Nature Institute, there are 10 American alligators at the famous zoo, and this particular specimen is a leucistic alligator, which has translucent white skin and deep blue eyes.

Last year, an extremely rare – and extremely adorable – leucistic alligator was born at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida.

Alligators are a subject of great fascination among people, both in zoos and in the wild. Despite their deadly reputation and multi-million population in the Southeast, attacks by these reptiles on humans are quite rare. And deaths from these attacks are even rarer.

All 10 alligators – including Thibodaux – took part in a routine examination that included blood draws, X-rays and other tests. When zoo staff discovered the coins, they responded quickly and carried out an operation on Thursday, removing the coins from Thibodaux “before they caused any problems.”