Woman's cellphone swallowed by crocodile ringing

Here's something strange that shows how sturdy some Nokia phones can be. There can be crocodile resistant!

A crocodile named Gena at an aquarium in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine swallowed the mobile phone nearly a month back when a visitor, Rimma Golovko trying to photograph the reptile dropped it in the water, according to several media reports.

The zoo authorities did not believe the woman that the 14-year-old toothy reptile ate her Nokia phone until they called it and heard it ringing inside the croc's stomach.

An aquarium employee Alexandra was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “The phone started ringing and the sound was coming from inside our Gena's stomach, and we understood s[he] wasn't lying."
Surprisingly, the device survived the amphibious reptile's teeth and acids in stomach.

Despite being the leader of the group, Gena has not been playing with other fellow African crocodiles. Apparently he is depressed and in pain after swallowing the device.

Croc in pain?

Though the phone has not been damaged, Gena has been unwell. Since the incident, the crocodile has refused to eat food, and has become silent.

The doctors have tried feeding him live quail, which was injected with vitamins and a laxative, but Gena did not eat it.

Alexandra added, "His behavior has changed. He moves very little and swims much less than he used to.”
Despite being the leader of the group, Gena has not been playing with other fellow African crocodiles. Apparently he is depressed and in pain after swallowing the device.

According to Eduard Manukyan, aquarium's representative, the crocodile's condition has been worsening day by day.

Gena may undergo operation

If the croc continues refusing to eat, he will be taken for an X-ray next week.
Currently, the authorities are trying to warm up the air and water to speed up Gena's digestion.

Removing the cellphone through operation will be the last resort, as a surgery in reptiles usually take around three weeks to heal. Also, the move can prove dangerous both for the Gena and the vets.
Dnipropetrovsk chief veterinarian Oleksandr Shushlenko stated that whether the crocodile will undergo surgery or not will depend on where the celephone is located.

He added, "We don't have much experience working with such large animals."

The zoo administrators stated, “We have ordered special transport to bring Gena to the vet.
"We pray only that he survived the operation. We are so worried about him.”

Meanwhile Golovko is only worried about her cellphone and wants to get it back, as it has her contacts and memorable photographs.