An unidentified man from New Zealand checked into the hospital with a rather embarrassing problem: he needed doctors to extract an asparagus-sized eel from his bottom.

Doctors at the A&E department at Auckland City Hospital had sent the patient for an X-ray scan and found that there was an eel lodged inside of his body.

"The eel was about the size of a decent sprig of asparagus and the incident is the talk of the place," a hospital source said, according to NZ Herald. "Doctors and nurses have come across people with strange objects that have got stuck where they shouldn't be before, but an eel has to be a first."

It is unclear how the eel managed to be trapped inside the man, but the doctors had safely removed the animal and the man was discharged later that day. The bizarre incident has been confirmed as factual, according to the paper.

"In response to a direct query from the Herald on Sunday, we can confirm that an adult male presented at Auckland City Hospital this week with an eel inside him," Matt Rogers, spokesman for Auckland District Health Board, said. "No further comment will be made out of respect for the patient's right to privacy," he added.

There are two main types of eel in New Zealand: the shortfin and the longfin, according to the country's Department of Conservation website.

Eels swim up streams as elvers, young eels, to find suitable adult habitat, and after many years they migrate to the Pacific Ocean to breed and die. Eels are secretive and nocturnal creatures and prefer to live in environments with plenty of spots to hide.

RELATED STORIES