FOXSYLVANIA

– – Those of you familiar with Peter Pan or the movie Hook may recall how a crocodile was Captain Hook’s nemesis, but his approach could be detected by the pirate owing to the ticking of an alarm clock swallowed by the reptile.  The presence of this foreign body did not otherwise adversely affect the croc outside of diminishing his chances of a pirate supper.

Well, Peter Pan was nowhere in sight, but life imitated art when a 14-year-old crocodile called Gena at an aquarium in the Ukraine indigested a cell phone dropped by a woman as she attempted to photograph the croc!  The Nokia phone started ringing afterwards inside of Gena’s stomach (now that’s quality!), and the croc has since been refusing food and acting listless.  Even worse, the croc hasn’t had a BM in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain since consuming the phone.

Hoping that all things will pass, doctors tried to feed Gena quail laced with vitamins and laxatives, but he didn’t take the bait.  The crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.  Surgery is a last resort as incisions and stitches take at least three weeks to heal in reptiles, and the procedure is dangerous for both the animal and the vets.

The crocodile in Peter Pan, by the way, had bitten off one of Captain Hook’s hands and wanted to continue the banquet.- -Aren’t kiddie stories great?!