The University of Florida’s veterinary school sees a lot of interesting patients but one July patient was particularly large and toothy. An American alligator owned by the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Florida, made a visit on July 25.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
Brooke, a 376-pound American alligator, had been seen in the lagoon it lives in rolling his head intermittently, so the alligator farm’s reptile curator, Jim Darlington, took Brooke on an 80-mile trip westward to the veterinary school in Gainesville, Florida for exam.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
Dr. Bridget Walker, a zoological medicine resident at the University of Florida, obtains a blood sample from the top of the alligator’s head, while Darlington assists.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
A zoological medical team prepares to move the 376-pound alligator to the radiology department. Brooke is named for the Brookfield Zoo in the Chicago area, where it lived before the alligator farm.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
A UF radiology team positions Brooke to take images of his lungs. The alligator needed additional radiographs because he was too large to perform a complete CT scan of his body, said Sarah Carey, a spokeswoman for the college of veterinary medicine.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
The 376-pound alligator is positioned to get pictures of his lungs. Brooke visited the university’s veterinary hospital after park staff noticed he was displaying abnormal symptoms, including rolling his head intermittently.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
After the scans and tests were complete, the University staff determined Brooke had an ear infection and the alligator was taken home to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park later that evening.
Sarah Carey/University Of Florida
USA TODAY
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