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Close shave as croc steals mower
Source: Agencies |
December 29, 2011, Thursday
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A GIANT saltwater crocodile named Elvis with an apparent affinity for household machinery charged at an Australian reptile park worker yesterday before stealing his lawn mower.
Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, was one of three workers tending to the lawn in the reptile's enclosure when he heard keeper Billy Collett let out a yelp.
Faulkner looked up to see the 5-meter, 500-kilogram croc lunging out of its lagoon at Collett, who warded the reptile off with his mower.
"Before we knew it, the croc had the mower above his head," Faulkner said. "He got his jaws around the top of the mower and picked it up and took it underwater with him."
The workers quickly left the enclosure. Elvis, meanwhile, showed no signs of relinquishing his new toy and sat guarding it all morning.
Eventually, Faulkner realized he had no choice but to go back in after the mower.
Collett lured Elvis to the opposite end of the lagoon with a helping of kangaroo meat while Faulkner plunged, fully clothed, into the water.
Before grabbing the mower, however, he had to search the bottom of the lagoon for two 7-centimeter teeth Elvis lost during the encounter. He quickly found them and escaped from the pool, unharmed, with mower in tow.
Though many may question the wisdom of going after a couple of teeth with a massive crocodile lurking just feet away, Faulkner said finding them was critical. "They clog up the filters," he said.
And, perhaps more important, he said, "They're a nice souvenir."
Elvis was captured in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where he had been attacking fishing boats.
Tim Faulkner, operations manager at the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, was one of three workers tending to the lawn in the reptile's enclosure when he heard keeper Billy Collett let out a yelp.
Faulkner looked up to see the 5-meter, 500-kilogram croc lunging out of its lagoon at Collett, who warded the reptile off with his mower.
"Before we knew it, the croc had the mower above his head," Faulkner said. "He got his jaws around the top of the mower and picked it up and took it underwater with him."
The workers quickly left the enclosure. Elvis, meanwhile, showed no signs of relinquishing his new toy and sat guarding it all morning.
Eventually, Faulkner realized he had no choice but to go back in after the mower.
Collett lured Elvis to the opposite end of the lagoon with a helping of kangaroo meat while Faulkner plunged, fully clothed, into the water.
Before grabbing the mower, however, he had to search the bottom of the lagoon for two 7-centimeter teeth Elvis lost during the encounter. He quickly found them and escaped from the pool, unharmed, with mower in tow.
Though many may question the wisdom of going after a couple of teeth with a massive crocodile lurking just feet away, Faulkner said finding them was critical. "They clog up the filters," he said.
And, perhaps more important, he said, "They're a nice souvenir."
Elvis was captured in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where he had been attacking fishing boats.
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