The surgery was performed last Tuesday by Dr Glen Carlisle in his veterinary facility on the outskirts of Oudtshoorn. Liz, a 2,8m female Nile crocodile swallowed the tin can shortly after a tour group had gone past. A worker noticed the can in her enclosure and Neal Martin, the Reptile Curator rushed to the scene, but Liz already had the can in her jaws and gulped it down. Martin monitored Liz for a few days after the incident, in the hope that she would regurgitate the tin, but to no avail.
Worried about the tin causing her damage, the enclosure was drained, and Rob Hall, the Operations Director and Martin managed to go in and sedate her fairly quickly. She was then placed on a stretcher and taken to Carlisle to be examined.
X-rays revealed the can in the left side of her stomach and Carlisle, face to face with the croc and flat on his stomach, struggled in vain for four hours to remove the tin via her open jaws. He says this proved to be an impossible task. "The tin was squashed flat and every time I attempted to snare the tin and touched the oesophagus, which is the size of a dinner plate, her reflex action would cause the oesophagus to contract. But, I was adamant that the croc would not leave my premises with the tin still in her stomach." After trying a stomach pump another three hours had passed and Carlisle decided that surgery was the safest option. A 10cm incision was made in the softer skin on her left side, and through gentle manipulation Carlisle managed to remove the jagged tin. "It was quite a challenge and I am glad that it turned out to be a success. She is doing well and I instructed the curator not to feed her for at least a week to give the stomach a chance to heal." Crocodiles can go without food for months on end and at the moment Liz is being kept in a private enclosure, but should be reunited with the other six crocodiles within the next few days.
Spokesperson Tammy Moult says they will use the unfortunate episode to educate the public. "We have kept the Coke tin, and are in the process of creating a display wall with a storyboard of the day's events. This is in the hope that we can try and assist people in understanding the effect that they have on the environment and that careless behaviour can cause great damage to an innocent animal.
"Nile crocodiles have jaws of steel, but on Tuesday she lay motionless on an operating table - vulnerable and weak. She was soft to touch, and the only movement was from her tiny nostrils during each heavy breath. Liz was put in an unfortunate situation due to thoughtless behaviour."
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Circus act? Endoscope in hand Dr Glen Carlisle spent four hours flat on his stomach peering into Liz’s gaping jaws.
ARTICLE: ILSE SCHOONRAAD, OUDTSHOORN COURANT EDITOR
