KIEV, Ukraine – Dropping a phone on the floor is a relatively regular occurrence, and it’s one our testing processes plan for, but dropping it into water only for it to be eaten by a crocodile is something a little less ordinary. That’s what happened when Rimma Golovko visited an aquarium in the Ukraine, leaving the croc feeling a bit snappy. More details below.

Gena, a 14-year-old crocodile, swallowed the Nokia phone when Rimma Golovko stretched out – with phone in hand – to take a photo of the croc with its jaws wide open. Losing her grip on the device, it slipped into the waters below – only to be snapped up by Gena, thinking it was food.

At first, employees at the aquarium in Kiev, Ukraine thought that the owner’s report may be a joke. However, when they heard a phone ringing from inside the croc they knew Gena had eaten something he shouldn’t have.

This should have been a very dramatic shot, but things didn’t work out

said Rimma.

The phone’s still inside the stomach of the crocodile, and swallowing such a thing has caused a fair amount of distress to its new host, changing its behaviour. Swimming less and refusing food are some of the symptoms, with doctors trying to feed him live quail injected with laxatives to help the croc through this tough time. Unfortunately, Gena’s lack of appetite saw him rejecting these, too, leading the veterinarian to plan for a surgical removal of the phone next week, if it doesn’t find its own way out by then.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard tales of phones ending up inside something, other than someone’s pocket. Back in 2009, a buffalo in India enjoyed a phone as a tasty snack. And again in 2009, a Nokia 1600 was found inside the belly of a 25lb cod, caught fresh from the sea. Both phones survived the ordeal intact.

Any more strange findings of Nokia phones? Do let us know, below.

story and video: The Associated Press

image credit: twak