Crocodile swipes lawn mower

SOMERSBY, Australia, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Keepers at the Australian Reptile Park said a crocodile, apparently unhappy with a lawn mower invading his space, grabbed the tool and pulled it underwater.

Park operations manager Tim Faulkner and keeper Billy Collett said Elvis the crocodile, believed to be about 50 years old, grabbed the mower at the Somersby attraction and watched it for more than an hour after pulling it underwater, the BBC reported Wednesday.

''Once he got it, he just sat there and guarded it,'' Faulkner said. ''It was his prize, his trophy. If it moved, then he would attack it again.''

Faulkner said he was able to retrieve the mower from Elvis, which he described as "a big territorial male," while Collett distracted the beast at the other end of the enclosure with some kangaroo meat.

''He has extraordinarily large teeth -- much bigger than most crocodiles,'' Faulkner said. ''He punched his teeth through the top casing of the mower.''