Man in SW China realizes crocodiles don't make good pets

A man in southwest China's Chongqing municipality has sent a crocodile he's been keeping on his rooftop garden as a pet to the city's crocodile zoo because he feels it has become a threat to his family, local newspaper Chongqing Commercial Daily reports.

The man, surnamed Fu, said on Saturday that a friend asked him if he wanted a crocodile about 10 days ago. He thought the crocodile would be in its infant stages, and thus very small, so he agreed. To Fu's surprise, the reptile showed up measuring about 1.7 meters in length.

Fu says the crocodile is fierce, hard to tame, scares his eight-year-old daughter and he doesn't know how to properly feed the animal.

It is illegal to keep crocodiles as household pets in China, according to Tu Renju, an expert on aquatic reptiles and amphibians at the zoo.