Apr. 12
Taiwan -- A zoo worker had his forearm reattached Thursday after his colleagues recovered the severed limb from the mouth of a 440-pound Nile crocodile, an official said.
The crocodile severed his forearm on Wednesday at the Shaoshan Zoo in the southern city of Kaohsiung when the veterinarian tried to retrieve a tranquilizer dart from the reptile's hide, zoo officials said.
He failed to notice the crocodile was not fully anesthetized when he stuck his arm through an iron rail to medicate it.
A zoo worker shot two bullets at the crocodile's neck to retrieve the forearm.
The crocodile was unharmed as they didn't find any bullet holes on its hide. It probably was shocked and opened its mouth to let go of the limb.
The 17-year-old reptile is one of a pair of Nile crocodiles kept by the Kaohsiung zoo. The crocodile is listed as an endangered species, and is rapidly disappearing from its native African habitat.
The zoo purchased the crocodile from a local resident who had kept it as a pet.
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