UF veterinarians remove zipliner’s shoe from stomach of St. Augustine Farm crocodile

It’s not hard to find an alligator on the University of Florida campus, but it’s not every day you see a crocodile there.

Earlier this month, a 10.5-foot Nile crocodile from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park stopped by the UF Veterinary Hospitals to have a shoe removed from her stomach.

The crocodile, named Anuket, swallowed the sneaker in December when it fell off a zipliner at the Alligator Farm and into the reptile’s habitat. The 341-pound crocodile was seen eating the shoe and regurgitating it before gobbling it back up.

Several attempts were made by the zoo medicine team at UF to remove the shoe from the crocodile’s stomach -- including zoological medicine resident Dr. Garrett Fraess reaching his arm up and through the animal’s esophagus -- but they didn’t work.

Large animal surgeon Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, assisted by Fraess and others, then performed a gastronomy, allowing easier access to the crocodile’s stomach and, soon after, the removal of the sneaker.

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine reports that the Anuket returned home after an overnight stay and has been recovering at the Alligator Farm -- hopefully without any stomachaches!