A huge American alligator has escaped its enclosure by hitching a ride on rising floodwaters.
The male gator got stuck between fences after managing to cross an internal boundary fence.
Australian Reptile Park keepers had to grab the animal around its belly before dangerously returning him to the lagoon, where he stays with 55 other alligators, news.com.au reports.
Jake Meney, head reptile keeper, said the heavy rain made the whole task much more difficult, as the angry gator had become "incredibly slippery".
“You never really know the temperament of an alligator, so although this guy was pretty happy to be relocated, we have to be prepared for him to change his mind at any stage,” Mr Meney said.
“Although there was no danger of him breaching the main boundary fence near visitors, there was still no way he would have been able to get back into the lagoon on his own.”
Queensland and New South Wales were hit with torrential rain which caused flash flooding in several areas.
Between 25-50mm of rain fell on the NSW coast, which continued to some locations experiencing 60-80mm in an hour this morning (Tuesday, February 22).
“That’s causing some dangerous flash flooding in these parts of the world,” Dean Narramore from the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The rain is expected to continue throughout the week.
Staff at the Australian Reptile Park have said they will continue to monitor their animals closely.
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In other news, a student was busted by cops after for trying to enter a tiger enclosure at Boston zoo – but he claims he didn't mean any harm.
Matthew Abraham, 24, was spotted by staff at Franklin Park Zoo in a private outdoor area behind the tiger enclosure at about 8.45am on February 21, state police said.
The biology major at Worcester State University allegedly climbed multiple fences to get into the area but hopped over a gate and fled when workers approached him.
He was later tracked down by security staff at the zoo after a brief search and had him checked over by paramedics but thankfully he had no injuries.
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