Attention zoo visitors: Do not drop things near the animals.
And, if you do, please tell somebody.
Utah’s Hogle Zoo issuing that warning after its sea lion, Diego, fell horribly ill.
“Our beautiful male sea lion, Diego, puked up a toddler’s sock Monday morning,” the facility posted on Facebook.
Diego was not feeling well on Sunday. He lost interest in training and treats.
Little wonder with that sock in his belly. But this is no joking matter.
“Friends, animals can die from eating foreign objects,” the Salt Lake City zoo said.
Diego is doing much better now.
But the zoo is warning visitors far and wide. Keep track of your things.
“Watch those little toddler socks, gloves, flip-flops, phones etc.,” the zoo said. “And please, if you do drop something, please tell someone! Do not feel too embarrassed to let us know. We can retrieve the item if we know about it.”
While this was meant to be a cautionary tale, some have taken the zoo to task for even having wild animals at all.
The zoo offered this retort on Facebook, pointing out none of its animals were taken from the wild.
“Diego is lucky he was at the zoo when he ate this. We lose wildlife in the droves in the wild by consuming human garbage, plastics and anything else we toss. It’s an epidemic. We’d love all animals to thrive in the wild but that’s just not the works we’re living in right now.”
Photos Utah’s Hogle Zoo/Facebook