What item was found inside the NYC Alligator and why it still cannot be removed

New information has emerged about the alligator that was found over the weekend in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, including what was found inside the reptile and why it can’t be removed yet.

The nearly five-foot alligator is being treated at the Bronx Zoo. The female was spotted in the park on Sunday and was easily caught by trained veterinarians due to being extremely malnourished, “lethargic and suffering from exposure to freezing temperatures,” the zoo said in a statement Wednesday.

The alligator is still too weak to eat on its own, the zoo said, so it is being tube-fed with “nutrients as well as fluids, vitamin B, antibiotics and antifungals.”

When captured, the reptile weighed only 15 pounds – less than half what an alligator of this size should weigh for its size and age, which officials estimate is about five or six years old.

The zoo said x-rays showed the animal once swallowed a four-inch bath stopper, which has yet to be removed. While it wasn’t immediately known where the alligator might have eaten it, it’s possible that someone kept the creature as a pet before releasing it.

“The alligator is currently too weak to attempt to remove the cork,” the Bronx Zoo said in a statement. “We will continue to provide her with supportive care and determine the next steps depending on how she responds to treatment.”

Alligators are clearly not native to the area, and experts warn that exotic animals could harm native species and the environment. Keeping an alligator as a pet in New York is illegal, as is releasing animals into city parks.

Bronx Zoo officials hope to remove the four-inch stopper once the alligator is healthy enough to undergo the procedure.