Alligator in Nagoya zoo pond swallowed hundreds of tossed coins

Who started this idiotic fashion of throwing coins in an alligator pond???

Zoos in Japan should all be closed, save maybe Asahiyama in Hokkaido. They are some of the worst in the world, and engage in unbelievable cruelty in many cases.

It's a dreadful place, that zoo, I hated going there, and stopped some years ago. The conditions for the animals are pitiful.

I agree. Disgusting place.

Also interesting to note that they might actually return these coins to circulation, so next time you buy something there is a (extremely small) chance that the change you receive might at one point have been in an alligator.

It's a dreadful place, that zoo, I hated going there, and stopped some years ago. The conditions for the animals are pitiful.

Kind of agree but also kind of disagree. By Japanese standards its actually probably the best in the country (maybe with the exception of Ueno), the conditions for most animals there are about a million times better than they are at the abysmal, cash-strapped local zoos around the country.

That said, "by Japanese standards" is the key phrase there as it is an extremely low standard. Even at Higashiyama the conditions some animals (particularly the bears, leopards and a few others) are pretty awful and way too cramped.

The really stupid animals are humans because they should know better.

Well, it didn’t work out too well for the alligator, did it? What a bunch of inconsiderate non-thinking idiots! What did hey think would happen to the coins? People are just flipping stupid!

Maybe a good idea to actually read the article before commenting and calling people stupid. The alligator likely died of natural causes, not coins.

That said, if there is a sign telling people not to throw in coins and they still do, that's incredibly rude and inconsiderate.

Maybe they can make an app laying out the ground rules just like they do in Kyoto. Oh wait, the article didn't mention anything about foreigners

There is zero indication the coins killed the gator. In fact, the article says that wasn't it. The oldest known gator is 80 years old but otherwise, we don't even know the average life span of a gator. So even age is not an indicator of a premature death.

And just as a gator uses pebbles in its stomach for digestion it probably did the same with the coins.

It's a dreadful place, that zoo, I hated going there, and stopped some years ago. The conditions for the animals are pitiful.

Piggy bank, out! Alligator bank, in! Will the coins come out of its poop? Pity the beast if it won't!

Throwing coins into the pond would not bring good fortune? Well, it didn’t work out too well for the alligator, did it? What a bunch of inconsiderate non-thinking idiots! What did hey think would happen to the coins? People are just flipping stupid!

I'm going to build a pond in my front garden.

Must have been one heck of an animal! 54 years old.....damn!

It didn’t bring fortune for the wani that ate the coins...