70 coins tossed by visitors into zoo aquarium found in alligator’s stomach

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The longstanding tradition of tossing coins into the water at tourist destinations may not be a good idea after all.

Thibodaux, a 36-year-old leucistic American alligator from the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Neb., swallowed some 70 coins in his lifetime. And it went unnoticed until the metal objects were found in his stomach by veterinarians during a routine exam. 

Thibodaux was one of 10 American gators that has gone through examinations when vets found the coins in his stomach. The gator had a public surgical procedure performed on him to remove the $7 worth of coins, with pictures of the extraction snapped by guests and shared on the zoo’s Facebook page.

In the Facebook post, associate veterinarian Christina Ploog said Thibodaux was “anesthetized and intubated” during the Feb. 15 procedure, which involved a plastic pipe being inserted into his mouth as tools were used to locate and extract the coins.

The coins were removed and it was confirmed with an X-ray image. The gator is recovering well and back in his habitat.

Visitors were warned not to thrown any coins into any bodies of water at the zoo. Instead, loose change can be turned into a souvenir coin at several machines around the facility.

Ploog told news outlet KETV that staff assumed the coins were directly tossed into the gators’ mouths rather than the animals scooping them off the ground.