University of Florida veterinarians surgically removed a shoe twice swallowed by the same hungry crocodile, the school said.
The 10.5-foot, 341-pound Nile crocodile, called Anuket, consumed the seemingly tasty footwear in December when it fell off a zip line at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, where the reptile resides, according to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville.
Witnesses saw Anuket consuming the shoe, regurgitating it and swallowing it again, the college said.
“If the shoe fits your fantasy … swallow it?” the school said in a Facebook post. “It’s not a good idea!”
Walmart’s size 6.5 women’s sneakers were made of synthetic materials, meaning it could not have been digested and would have stayed inside the Anuket and blocked the passage from the stomach to the intestines, according to Gen Anderson, general curator of St Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
“If it were leather sandals, it would have been a totally different game,” Anderson told NBC News on Tuesday.
Without surgery, the crocodile would have suffered “a very slow death,” she added.
After Anuket was brought to the University of Florida on February 5, vets tried several less invasive methods to get the shoe off the beast, with no luck.
They were forced to perform “a gastrotomy that allowed easier access to the crocodile’s stomach”, according to the school.
“In a short time, he managed to remove his shoe,” said the school. “After an overnight stay, Anuket has returned home and has been recovering in the park ever since.”
Anuket is at least 34 years old and is expected to live between 60 and 80, according to Anderson.
Ali Gostanian contributed.