Gustave - The largest crocodile in Africa |
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Gustave is the name of a Nile crocodile, a giant who lives in Burundi. For the last 20 years Gustave the giant crocodile has been terrorizing the residents of Burundi, dodging hunters and escaping death in Lake Tanganyika. Gustave was named by the Frenchman Patrice Faye, who has lived in Burundi for about 20 years.
It is estimated that Gustave is 7 meters long and his weight is around 1000 kilos. It is believed that he is the largest crocodile in Africa and even in the world. Gustave is a remarkable man-eater, and is believed to have made more than 300 victims along the river Rusizi, and the lake Tanganyika. While this number seems exaggerated, Gustave has gained almost mythical status, and is much feared by the people of the region. The legend say he developed a taste for human flesh, feeding on the corpses in the water, of those killed by a military commander in region during the civil war. Faye is trying to capture the crocodile for 11 years and became a local hero.
He now changed its strategy and no longer wants to kill Gustave the Crocodile, but he intends to put a tracker on the animal, to follow in his footsteps. At some point, Faye tried to capture Gustave with a trap used in Zimbabwe to hunt the giant crocodiles. But the animal was not fooled. Despite having come close several times, Gustave has never fallen into the trap, which being so heavy, eventually sink into into the River bottom. According to the Frenchmen , "we live in an age in which creatures like these are increasingly rare."
Faye said that when he followed the movements from the crocodile for a period of three months, 17 people were devoured by Gustave. Faye calculated that if he had been killing people for 20 years at that pace, would have already eaten more than 300 people. But the Frenchman says Gustave already spent longer periods without eating any person. Is there an explanation for the crocodile having a preference for people in his menus?
For Patrice Faye, the enormous size of the animal means that a diet of fish from the lake will not be enough to satisfy his hunger. Moreover being so huge, it is slower and therefore has no choice but to, hunt down easier prey. In water, there is no easier prey than humans. Thus it may not be a matter of taste, but rather a matter of what he can hunt down. Gustave is depicted In the crocodile movies genre, Primeval (2007) features a giant crocodile as the main star presenting an exaggerated version of Gustave Crocodile, as a predator that hunts people even on land, among other things that are pure fiction and exaggeration of the film. See also: Facts about crocodiles for kids Where crocodiles live Where do alligators live Alligator facts for kids Gustave Crocodile Videos
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