Dixie the American alligator from Auckland Zoo during the procedure to put a camera put down her throat after she swallowed a jandal. Photo: Auckland Zoo
An Auckland Zoo alligator which ate a jandal left behind in its enclosure had to undergo an hospital procedure to make sure the man-made object had passed.
American alligator Dixie was seen swallowing the jandal in her habitat, Auckland Zoo said in a post on Facebook.
"Although after this she continued eating well, our vet team wanted to ensure this was not going to be a longer-term health issue for her," the social media post on Sunday said.
"Alligators can consume foreign objects because they're 'sit and wait' hunters.
"If something moves near them, they will often automatically snap and eat it. This means that in the wild, alligators can die from ingesting man-made objects."
The zoo's vets were joined by Dr Tommy Fluen, an external specialist experienced with endoscopy - where a thin flexible tube is passed into a patient's body.
Once Dixie was safely anaesthetised, Fluen was able to look inside her stomach using a small camera attached to the scope.
"Every inch of Dixie's stomach was examined, and thankfully a jandal was not found - however we did find a lot of half-digested meat and vegetation.
"This means it is very likely the jandal was expelled previously."
While the endoscopy was taking place, the zoo's vet team took the opportunity to check Dixie's eyes and body condition, which were "in great shape".
"It would be amazing if Dixie never came across a man-made object in her habitat," the Auckland Zoo post said.
"Hopefully, our visitors can help us with that preventative healthcare by going home with everything that they brought to the zoo."
Head of veterinary services James Chatterton said for many people a trip to the zoo was the time they developed an interest in animals and started to care.
"And that's the first step on providing a better future for wild animals everywhere," he said.
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