Taiwanese zoo worker has arm reattached after Croc attack

Surgeons reattached a Taiwanese zookeeper’s forearm today after a 200-kilo Nile crocodile bit it off.

The male crocodile severed Chang Po-yu’s forearm yesterday at the Shaoshan Zoo in the southern city of Kaohsiung when the veterinarian tried to retrieve a tranquilliser dart from the reptile’s hide so he could give it medication, zoo officials said.

The forearm was reattached following seven hours of surgery today.

The Liberty Times newspaper said Chang failed to notice that the crocodile was not fully anaesthetised when he stuck his arm through an iron railing to medicate it.

The 17-year-old reptile is one of a pair of Nile crocodiles kept by the Kaohsiung zoo.

Known as a man-eater because of its voracious nature, the crocodile is listed as an endangered species, and is rapidly disappearing from its native African habitat.

As Chang was rushed to the hospital yesterday, a zoo worker shot two bullets at the crocodile’s neck to retrieve the forearm, said Chen Po-tsun, a zoo official.

“The crocodile was unharmed as we didn’t find any bullet holes on its hide,” Chen said. “It probably was shocked and opened its mouth to let go of the limb.”

Chen said the zoo bought the crocodile 10 years ago from a local resident who had kept it as a pet.