NEW YORK DAILY NEWS (New York) 13 November 13 Zoo renames Cuban crocodile after 'Fidel' regularly assaults his siblings (David Harding)
A German zoo has been forced to rename one its Cuban crocodiles after one aggressive reptile called Fidel started attacking the others.
His regular assaults on his siblings earned Fidel the nickname "Castro" and plunged the young crocodile into a political fight with the zoo's sponsors.
Fidel is one of seven crocodiles hatched at the zoo in Hoyerswerda in a region formerly in communist-ruled East Germany.
The Cuban crocodile is an endangered species and zookeepers decided to honor the hatchlings by giving them names associated with their homeland.
But then Fidel and politics intervened, reports The Local newspaper.
"We were simply looking for names which you immediately associate with their homeland of Cuba," said zoo director Carmen Lötsch.
"Nobody intended it to be a direct reference to dictator Fidel Castro or indeed a glorification of him as a person."
But the committee that provides funding in the region — and last year gave the zoo some $600,000 in backing — decided that the name for the snappy snapper had to go as it was politically insensitive.
"The cultural body is one of our most import partners and ensures the survival of Hoyerswerda zoo. We therefore take its displeasure regarding the name very seriously, even if we cannot entirely understand it," said Lötsch.
Though not that seriously, it seems. They have renamed the croc "Fidelio".
But there may be another twist in the tale. Zookeepers have yet to determine the animal's gender. If it is a female croc, it will be renamed again, this time to "Fidelia."
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