Evlis the Crocodile celebrates 53rd Birthday

Australia’s crankiest crocodile, Elvis, reinforced his reputation today when keepers gave the 5 metre crocodile a quarter of a cow for his 53rd birthday. The 500kg beast charged at keepers to claim the cow as his own then performed the world-famous “death roll” to amazed onlookers.

Elvis gained world-wide attention in 2011 when he ate his keeper’s lawnmower, earning him the title of “Australia’s Crankiest Crocodile”. Since then, many of Elvis’ videos online find themselves going viral, as he has become loved all over the world.

Guests gathered around his enclosure this morning and watching in awe as Elvis played tug of war with six keepers. He then performed the death-roll to the gasps of onlookers and ripped apart the meat easily. Feeling the rush of capturing his prey, Elvis then chased the keepers from the yard. The keepers scrambled out as quickly as they could with Elvis chomping right behind them.

Commenting on the extremely dangerous activity, Daniel Rumsey (Head of Reptiles at Australian Reptile Park) said, “Once Elvis grabbed the carcass there was no letting go until he got a mouthful of food, it was quite the tough game of tug-of-war! Then the death-rolling started and that gave the people watching a real show!”

Rumsey went on to say “We gave Elvis the best possible treat ever – which for crocs is a quarter of a cow! We love getting Elvis fired up for holidays and giving him this type of food provides excellent enrichment for him. He thinks that he just grabbed a large prey item, dragged it in the water and drowned it then ripped off a piece. This is a natural behaviour that we see in wild crocs and it’s awesome to see Elvis mimic this behaviour!”

Crocodiles are superior hunters and they possess larger than average sized teeth and a jaw capable of crushing the bones of large prey, which Rumsay says “the bone crunching sound makes my bones shudder.”

During the action-packed event, Elvis even lost a tooth. This is usual behaviour for crocodiles and they can replace dozens of teeth throughout their lifetime. This tooth was presented to a little boy Kale whose parents brought him to celebrate his 4th birthday.

Elvis came to The Australian Reptile Park from the Northern Territory where he was causing havoc to fisherman’s boats. He has a reputation for keeping staff on their toes, so the process of giving him such a large carcass needs to be cautiously thought out.

Elvis the crocodile is an ambassador for his species and one of the most popular animals that reside at The Australian Reptile Park. With huge crowds amassing for his daily feed at 1.30pm each day of the holidays.

Saltwater crocodiles were once hunted to the brink of extinction in Australia, but following their status to be legally protected in QLD, NT and WA, their numbers have made a full recovery and they are now listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Australian Reptile Park is a hands-on zoo located the natural bush setting of the Central Coast of NSW, only 60 minutes from Sydney or Newcastle and recently won 2018 NSW Business of the Year. Visitors can enjoy live entertaining shows, themed exhibits and interaction with many of the wildlife sanctuaries residents. The Park is open daily from 9am-5pm, with complimentary parking and BBQ facilities. More information at www.reptilepark.com.au
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