One crocodile died after about two months is available Abandoned New York City park with significant health issues, the Bronx Zoo announced Friday.
A necropsy revealed that the female alligator, which died on April 16, was severely underweight, severely anemic, suffering from infections in her intestines and skin and chronic stomach ulcers, the zoo said in a statement.
Vets also removed a bathtub stopper that she had eaten while being “illegally kept as a pet.”
The alligator had been receiving treatment at the zoo since it was found near Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake on February 19.
“She was so weak, weak and anemic, her immune system was not as strong as it should have been and she succumbed to the infection,” the zoo said.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The zoo is calling the situation a case of animal abuse, and there is no word on whether the owner has been identified. The alligator was spotted by park maintenance staff near the lake, which was 37 degrees at the time, the zoo said.
“This crocodile suffered and died because its owner decided to throw it into a freezing lake in a very weak condition instead of providing it with the veterinary care that could have saved it,” the zoo said. “Wild animals are not pets.”
— Caitlin O’Kane contributed to this report.
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