Crocs 2

[Blackwatch]

Since 1990, at least a dozen people from western countries have been killed by crocodiles.

On March 19, 2006, University of Washington medical professor Richard Root, M.D., age 68, who had moved to to alleviate a shortage of physicians, was killed on a wildlife tour of the Limpopo River when a crocodile emerged from the river, grabbed Dr. Root and pulled him under.
In September 2005, Russell Harris, a 37-year-old British engineer, was killed by a large saltwater crocodile while snorkeling off Picnic Beach in Australia [2]. His body was recovered.
In August 2005, a 60-year-old man was dragged underwater by a crocodile in northeastern Australia.
In October 2002, 23-year old German student Isobel von Jordan was killed by a saltwater crocodile in Kakadu National Park, Australia.
In April 2002, 35-year-old British musician Richard Shadwell was killed by a crocodile in Borneo.
Another relatively famous, or infamous, crocodile hails from the Rusizi River and has been named Gustave. Estimated to exceed 6 meters in length (20 feet), and weigh in excess of 1 ton (2,000 lbs) Gustave has been credited with killing some 300 people, though this is most likely an exaggeration. Numerous capture attempts have been made, including using a massive bear trap in 2002, however as yet Gustave has managed to evade capture to this day. Gustave is the basis of the film Primeval (originally titled Gustave), which follows a news team sent to Burundi to capture Gustave; however, while doing so they become the target of a warlord in the midst of an African civil war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodile_attacks

Gustave is a massive Nile crocodile living in Burundi, estimated to be 6 m (20 ft) in length and weighing around 907 kg (1 ton).[1] He is believed to be one of the world's largest freshwater crocodiles.[2] A notorious man-eater, he is rumored to have claimed as many as 300 victims from the banks of the Rusizi River and the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. While this number is likely greatly exaggerated, Gustave has attained a near-mythical status and is greatly feared by people in the region.[3] He developed a taste for human flesh by feeding on dead bodies thrown into the water by a local warlord.

Gustave was named by Patrice Faye, a French resident of Burundi and self-taught naturalist who has been pursuing the crocodile since 1998. Faye and a documentary team attempted to capture Gustave in 2002 using an enormous trap, but the crocodile avoided it.[4] The ill-fated attempt was detailed in a somewhat sensationalized documentary titled Capturing the Killer Croc, which aired on PBS in May 2004.[5]

Based on his size, Gustave is estimated to be at least 65 years old. He was sighted most recently in April 2007.[6]

His huge size has allowed him to kill and eat an adult hippopotamus, a feat that would be impossible for smaller crocodiles. Since he is too big and heavy to catch smaller prey like small mammals and fish, he catches larger, heavier animals like wildebeast and zebra. Thanks to his thick, armored skin, he has also survived several attacks by humans wielding guns and knives.

It is being considered if Gustave should be protected instead of killed because many scientists say that he is one of a kind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_%28crocodile%29

Primeval is a 2007 horror thriller film which was released on January 12, 2007. The film was inspired by the true story of Gustave, a 2,000 pound (907 kilograms), 6 meter (20ft) crocodile in Burundi.[1]

[Kyt]

Crocs and Alligators have always given me the willies. I wouldn't go as far as wanting them all turned into shoes and handbags, but there is something about them. It maybe the fact that they are so evolutionary successful, and have survived for millions of years in thesame basic form.

Or it could be that they look like such lumbering slow creatures, and then WHAM!! Thanks for the interesting info, blackwatch

MOD NOTE: I've created a new forum for these types of interesting nuggets of info, and moved this thread from the WW2 specific "Did you know?" forum. Always good to learn something new.

[Antipodean Andy]

Wow Gustave is a big freshie. Our salties get that big but our freshies are smaller. There's also an Australian-made film at present called Rogue.

Anyone dumb enough to swim up north where there's plenty of signs and warnings and a general "watch yourself near the water" attitude, takes some bloody stupid risks.

[Antipodean Andy]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22612699-2,00.html

Swimming in the Daintree. Real bright boy but then he was half-cut.