For over two decades, keepers at a zoo hand-feed a mugger who lost its upper jaw in a territorial fight in western India's Gujarat. (July 21)

The visual comes out of Sri Sayajibaug Zoo of Vadodara district.

According to reports, the lone brown mugger stays in an isolated pond, where a dedicated caretaker comes to carefully feed him fish with his hands.

The mugger's injury was a result of a territorial fight with a second male crocodile who was younger.

The attacker had managed to grab his jaw in a bite.

He also lost a big portion of his muscles on both sides of his snout, but the veterinarians were able to pull the muscles together and stitch it back.

The jaw, however, was broken from the joint and could not be healed. It had to be amputated. Since then, his former keeper, Kalu Mali, took care of him.

Mali used to bring a bucketful of fishes, sit next to the pond, while the crocodile would slowly emerge out of the water.

Following this, Mali would put the fishes in his throat and use a stick to push it down.

"The crocodile is nearly 25 years old, since the last decade, our keepers have been feeding him like that. In absence of the upper jaw, the reptile cannot hunt or grasp food on its own. Someone has to feed it to him," curator Dr. Pratyush Patankar told Newslions media.

"He is extremely mellow and not at all aggressive. With time he has learned to associate the sound of the bucket and the known faces as his source of food. He slowly comes towards the edge of the pond waiting for it. It is an accomplishment that the crocodile has survived for over a decade after losing his upper jaw. It is because of the dedication of the keepers," said Dr. Patankar.

He added that as reptiles eat by swallowing and not biting, the process of swallowing the fish is not an issue for the mugger.

Mali retired from his service recently.

However, he has left behind well-trained keepers to feed the mugger and take care of him.

The mugger is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and therefore, the Sri Sayajibaug zoo has isolated the injured reptile for over a decade.

Central Zoo Authority rules forbid zoos from keeping injured or handicapped animals on display.

"They, however, are very much part of our zoo family in every other way," Dr Patankar concluded.

Since two decades, keepers at a zoo hand-feed a mugger who lost its jaw in a territorial who lost his upper jaw in a territorial fight in western India's Gujarat.

The visual came out of Sri Sayajibaug Zoo of Vadodara district on July 21.

According to reports, the lone brown mugger stays in an isolated pond, where a dedicated caretaker comes to carefully feed him fish with his hands.

The mugger's injury was a result of a territorial fight with a second male crocodile who was younger to the former.

The attacker had managed to grab his jaw in a bite.

He also lost a big portion of his muscles on either side of his snout, but the veterinarians were able to pull the muscles together and stitch it back.

The jaw, however, was broken from the joint and could not be healed.

It had to be amputated.

Since then, his former keeper, Kalu Mali, took care of him.

Kalu Mali used to bring a bucketful of fishes, sit next to the pond, while the crocodile would slowly emerge out of the pond.

Following this, Mali would put the fishes in his throat and use a stick to push it down.

"The crocodile is nearly 25 years old, since the last decade, our keepers have been feeding him like that. In absence of the upper jaw, the reptile cannot hunt or grasp food on its own. Someone has to feed it to him," present curator Dr Pratyush Patankar told Newslions media.

"He is extremely mellow and not at all aggressive. With time he has learnt to associate the sound of the bucket and the known faces as his source of food. He slowly comes towards the edge of the pond waiting for it. It is an accomplishment that the crocodile has survived for over a decade after losing his upper jaw. It is because of the dedication of the keepers," he said adding that as reptiles eat by swallowing and not biting, the process of swallowing the fish is not an issue for the mugger.

Mali retired from his service recently.

However, he has left behind well-trained keepers to feed the mugger and take care of him.

The mugger is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and therefore, the Sri Sayajibaug zoo has isolated the injured reptile for over a decade.

Central Zoo Authority rules forbid zoos from keeping injured or handicapped animal on display.

"They, however, are very much part of our zoo family in every other way," Dr Pratyush Patankar concluded.