The sad tale of Saaremaa Zoo's Kusti the crocodile

A baby crocodile at a zoo on Saaremaa sadly died as a result of what is suspected to have been a human act.
The zoo, which says it had seen a spate of poor behavior by children unsupervised or poorly supervised by adults, had struggled to get the funds together to purchase the animal in the first place.
Speaking to "Vikerhommik," Mirge Arge director of Saaremaa Zoo, noted concerns over a recent spate of visitors who have shown a lack of awareness which could potentially lead to harm the animals, something she attributes to the impact of the digital world diminishing people's perception of reality.
While this might apply to children reared on aggressive video games, parents or other adults accompanying children too must play their part.
Arge recalled an incident where she witnessed an adult male with accompanying three children, who he encouraged to throw stones at the ducks in the zoo's duckpond, offering a "reward" for hitting them.
"It made me think about where we've ended up. But I still believe that if we can step out of the digital world a bit and experience the real world, we can regain some kindness and understanding," Arge went on.
Kusti had only recently marked his first birthday and had started to be exhibited outside, she said. "Kusti came to us a year ago, straight from hatching. We had wanted a crocodile for a long time, but financial constraints made that impossible."
"Eventually, thanks to a fortunate chain of events, Muhu Adventure Park donated the funds needed for Kusti, allowing us to reserve a crocodile from Germany, which we picked up a few weeks later," adding that the cost came to €800.
The news of what happened to Kusti is just starting to spread.
Arge shared that a six-year-old child was inconsolable upon learning of Kusti's death. "I couldn't comfort them; I was too sad myself. I do see that what we do matters to people. Although losing Kusti was a great tragedy for us, then the Muhu Adventure Park mentioned that this might make people think more about how to treat animals and birds."
Kusti had been placed in a shallow pond to bask in the sun, a crucial activity for the species.
"Many people came, and there was a lot of interest in Kusti," Arge recalled. "Kusti was outside for only four days when a visitor came to me, saying something was very wrong with Kusti."
Arge rushed out to find Kusti lying on his side, an unusual position.
While Arge said she could still feel some movement, the vet called in from Muhu was there to carry out an autopsy.
"Initially, my partner and I blamed ourselves, wondering if we had done something wrong, as Kusti had eaten normally that morning," Arge said.
However, the autopsy revealed no issues with what Kusti had eaten – and instead a large hematoma in the skull.
"We don't know what caused this hematoma. We've seen people at the zoo throwing stones, and unfortunately, some adults don't stop their children from throwing them. They don't understand the consequences of throwing a stone, what might happen, or what the outcome could be," Arge went on.
While no rocks or stones were found at the site, this doesn't rule it out as being the cause of death, she added.
The zoo says it plans to employ security guards next summer, especially during peak visiting times, to protect the animals on show.
"If we can teach people to reconnect with the real world at the zoo today, the real change may come years later," she added.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Annika Remmel
Source: 'Vikerhommik,' presenters Kirke Ert and Taavi Libe