Worker undergoes 9 hour surgery following crocodile attack at Jerusalem Zoo

A shot was fired at a crocodile that attacked a staff member at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem, which seriously wounded a staff member, Israel Police reported Sunday.

A report was received regarding gunshots that were heard at the zoo, prompting the arrival of police forces from the Jerusalem District.

The condition of the 45-year-old man who was wounded continues to be serious. He is ventilated and sedated and is being treated in the intensive care unit. 

He was evacuated to the trauma unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem in serious condition after which he was rushed to the operating room, where a multidisciplinary team of anesthetics, surgery, oral and maxillofacial, orthopedics and plastic specialists worked together in a operation that lasted over 9 hours. 

Worker evacuated for further medical treatment 

The worker in the crocodile enclosure was bitten by the crocodile. It was then revealed that a security guard who noticed the incident shot the crocodile, likely saving the worker's life.

Israeli media later reported that the crocodile had died from the shot.