This is the moment a zookeeper saved a beast dubbed “Australia’s crankiest crocodile” – after it lashed out at its new enclosure.
The cheeky reptile, called Elvis, wasn’t entirely happy when his pad got revamped recently.
Apparently unimpressed by the upgrade, the croc took matters into his own webbed hands – by attempting to gobble up the new pump in his pool.
READ MORE: Japanese supermarket launches drinkable MAYO – and social media users aren’t impressed
Luckily, operations manager at Australia Reptile Park, where the almost five-metre-long saltwater croc resides, was on hand.
In the video, shared on What’s The Jam, Brandon can be seen racing over to the pool and poking at Elvis’ mouth and body to release his grip on the pump.
Worried visitors watched from the side, concerned the croc may swallow the pump and cause internal damage.
Luckily, Brandon was able to free the pump for the 500kg beast’s “death grip”.
He said: “I didn’t actually know what was going on.
“I was deep into meetings when my team frantically called me.
“I just thought ‘far out I’ve got to get in there’ because he could seriously do some harm to himself if he swallows any of the parts.
“Elvis is the king of the Australian Reptile Park and if anything goes into his enclosure he wants a piece of it.
“He absolutely destroyed the pump and I’m sure he’s pretty happy with himself right now.”
The incident comes just after Elvis’ enclosure underwent a makeover with a deep clean, new turf and native plants.
A spokesperson for the park said: “Unfortunately, Elvis wasn’t too happy about the change.
“He attacked a pool pump and hose that was draining water from his enclosure, dragging it under the water and thrashing it around.
“Keepers frantically called Brandon to the scene to go in and save Elvis from swallowing the pump.
“Keepers and visitors watched nervously as Brandon jumped into Elvis’ enclosure, who then started poking at Elvis’ mouth and body to release his grip.
“It wasn’t until after a tough game of tug-of-war until Gifford successfully pulled the pool pump and hose from Elvis’ death grip.”
The reptile was crowned “Australia’s crankiest crocodile” in 2011 after garnering worldwide attention for almost eating his keeper’s lawnmower.
READ MORE: Adorable giant pandas will KEEP original names despite theme park flooded with 22,600 suggestions
