Zoo pulls 70 coins from alligator's stomach, urges visitors not to throw money into exhibits

A Nebraska zoo is telling visitors not to throw coins into animal exhibits after veterinarians pulled $7 in coins out of an alligator's belly.

Workers at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha performed surgery on a white alligator Thursday, retrieving 70 U.S. coins from the reptile's stomach after "metal foreign objects" were found during routine exams.

In a social media post, the zoo said all 10 of its alligators went through blood collection and radiographs as part of their routine care when veterinarians identified the objects in the stomach of an iconic resident of the zoo − Thibodaux, a 36-year-old leucistic American alligator.

Christina Ploog, an associate veterinarian at the zoo who led the procedure, told local outlet KETV that guests don't realize how harmful the coins could be, not just because the alligators could ingest them but because some could have harmful chemicals.

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The Lincoln Journal Star reported that as the alligators rub their feet along the bottom of the water they could stir up the coins, which would make coins that are thrown in the pool easier to ingest.

"Guests should not throw coins into any bodies of water at the zoo," the release stated.

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Ploog said Thibodaux was anesthetized and intubated as officials removed the coins.

"We'll go ahead and get some baseline heavy metal blood screening to make sure that the metal that they were eating isn't anything more dangerous, like lead or zinc or something like that," Ploog told KETV.

The outlet reported that Thibodaux's operation was witnessed by some visitors.

Jordan McCarthy told KETV he and his sons went to the zoo on Sunday to see the alligators, but when he got there, he found that the pathway to their exhibit was closed and a team of vets were working on Thibodaux the white alligator.

"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.

A follow-up X-ray after the operation showed Thibodaux free of coins. The Zoo said, "he's recovered well from the procedure and is back in his habitat."

“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,” Taylor Yaw, zoo veterinarian and director of animal health, said in the release.