A male worker at the Bronx Zoo was hospitalized on Sunday, May 24, after a tomistoma bit his arm, officials from the Bronx Zoo clarified Monday, May 25.

 

Police had originally reported on Sunday that the man had been bitten by a crocodile but when contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the Bronx Zoo, said Monday, “There was an incident with a wild animal keeper at the Bronx Zoo [May 24] at about 2.30 p.m. with a Tomistoma, also known as a Sunda gharial.”

 

The statement continued, “The keeper was cleaning an enclosure and after slipping, a small Tomistoma nipped at the left forearm of the keeper. The keeper was treated at a local hospital and released for a minor wound which did not need stitches.”

 

As reported, on Sunday, an NYPD spokesperson had said that at around 2.45 p.m. on Sunday, police responded to a 911 call regarding a 38-year-old man bit by “a crocodile” inside the Bronx Zoo.

“Upon further investigation, it was determined that the male worker was feeding the crocodile, sustained a small bit to his left arm,” the spokesperson said. “EMS responded and transported the man to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition. The investigation remains ongoing.”

 

As reported an emaciated alligator found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park had been transferred to and cared for by the Bronx Zoo in 2023 but later died. In 2021, a woman was found trespassing inside the Bronx Zoo’s Lion’s Den.

 

Click here, here, here here, here, here and here for some of our recent Bronx Zoo-related stories.