Godzik the crocodile dies after capture: Ukraine ministry
DONETSK, Ukraine (AFP) — A small Nile crocodile that had escaped from a Ukrainian circus died on Friday, two days after its capture in a bay in Ukraine, the emergency situations ministry announced.
"Godzik", a diminutive of Godzilla, the fictional Japanese monster, "died in the morning, then he was incinerated," ministry regional chief Andri Bondarenko told AFP.
On May 31 Godzik escaped from his cage at the Donetsk Circus, where he was on display by the Azov Sea and bolted into the water.
The 20-centimetre (8-inch) reptile took refuge on a barge in the Azov Sea, where he sunbathed all summer, without scaring other sunbathers.
In autumn, he was protected from the cold by a steel mill that discharged hot water into the bay.
Godzik was captured on Wednesday and the emergency situations ministry was in charge of his care until his owner could come get him.
"We followed all the recommendations of the owner and we created the conditions to make him feel well," Bondarenko said. He was placed in a bath with warm water. "We do not know why he died."
