Two men are fishing in the waters of the Ruzizi river in Burundi, a small nation that lies
between Tanzania and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. The sun is hanging low in the sky,
and the men are keeping a wary eye out for hippopotamuses. Nighttime is when the hippos leave
the water to feed so the sun doesn't scorch their sensitive skin, and of all the animals in Africa,
they are the most feared. As the sun sets above them, the men haul in catfish after catfish,
dusk is always the best time to fish- but the commotion has drawn the attention of something
large and cold blooded. Something with hunting instincts honed by millions of years of evolution,
an ancient predator that once preyed on dinosaurs and then outlived them. Distracted
as the men are by their great success, they don't notice the brief shadows of a large,
dark mass moving through the murky waters. One of the men leans down to pick up a large catfish
still struggling on the end of the hook- when suddenly the water erupts with two tons of
reptilian fury, giant jaws seizing the fisherman by his midsection and dragging him under. With one
flick of its mighty tail, the gigantic crocodile has already pushed itself deep into the waters
of the Ruzizi river, and the only sign of the horrific attack are rapidly diminishing ripples.
Just days later, a mother and her children are doing laundry by the river’s edge-
this time in broad daylight. Her teenage son is helping and busily scrubbing away
when suddenly there’s an explosion of water as a giant crocodile lunges out of the river
and seizes the boy by his leg. With barely enough time to scream, the boy is dragged into the water
and drowned- though later his dismembered remains would be found and identified by local farmers.
These are just two of over 300 alleged attacks against humans by the legendary African crocodile,
Gustave. A beast of a crocodile, Gustave has never been captured but has been observed
by scientists at a distance. The monster is estimated to be anywhere between 18 to 25 feet
long (5.5m – 7.6 m) and weigh more than two tons. Previously it was thought that Gustave had to be
around 100 years old in order to have reached such incredible size, but observation of the crocodile
when he opened his mouth revealed that Gustave still has all of his teeth, and crocodiles of
that age are nearly toothless. Unlike most other animals, crocodiles never truly stop growing,
and their sizes are only limited by their lifespan- if a crocodile can avoid predation,
disease, or starvation, it can continue to grow indefinitely, and it's thought that a
crocodile's true lifespan is unknown, and only limited by their ability to continue hunting.
Once the teeth are lost though, the crocodile is no longer able to hunt
and thus dies of starvation. If a crocodile’s teeth could keep on growing forever though,
it’s thought that crocodiles may have a life span as great s 150 years,
or possibly even more- which would make them some of the longest lived reptiles in the world!
Another factor working against giant crocodiles is the necessity for larger and larger prey as they
grow, a handicap that Gustave currently faces. As they get bigger crocodiles are no longer able
to hunt fast, agile prey such as fish, antelope, and zebra, which forces the animals to hunt much
larger prey such as hippos, big wildebeest, and naturally: humans. With 300 deaths attributed to
Gustave, it's believed that the giant killer croc has long ago made the switch to humans
and found them to be easy prey, which only encourages the crocodile to hunt more humans.
The first reported kills by Gustave of humans began back in the 1970s,
and its thought that Gustave is about 63-64 years old, meaning he must have gotten a taste
for people quite early on in his life. Yet the initial attacks were blamed on other crocodiles,
and it wasn't until the 80s that they started being linked to the sightings of one specific,
and very large croc. Still, his body count was hard to nail down as Gustave curiously would not
always eat the people he preyed on- often bodies would be discovered dismembered and in pieces,
yet not eaten. Why Gustave was killing people and not eating them was, and still is a mystery,
as dismembered bodies have been discovered as recently as the 2010s. Perhaps though the
explanation can be found with another terrifying prey animal: the great white shark. Once mature,
great whites hunt seals almost exclusively, their bodies offer densely packed reserves
of thick fat which is an excellent source of energy for the sharks. Most humans on
the other hand offer a far less satisfying treat for the shark, which is why so many shark attacks
are limited to a single exploratory bite, with the animal immediately spitting the swimmer or
surfer back out in disgust when it realizes its mistake. For Gustave, it might be the same case-
an animal as giant as Gustave requires a very high calorie diet, and though crocodiles can go
months without eating at times, for a croc the size of Gustave hunting can be very difficult.
It is kind of hard after all to ambush prey when you are the size of a small truck, the sheer bulk
of the animal could be giving it away to the big hippos and wildebeest it needs to eat in order
to survive. Crocodiles do most of their hunting on the shallows close to the river bank where animals
come to drink- and if you're the size of Gustave there's just not many places where you can lie
inconspicuously in shallow water. All that bulk also makes hunting agile prey such as antelope
or fish, which makes up a significant portion of a regular crocodile's diet, all but impossible.
What this means is that Gustave must hunt every opportunity it has, and while other animals have
long learned to fear and respect the water, we humans have yet to catch on. Perhaps its our
perceived mastery of the environment, our ability to build cities and towns, that has insulated
us from the primeval instincts to fear what my lurk in the water. Whatever the reason, humans
tend to be a lot less careful in the rivers and lakes that Gustave prowls than any other animal,
and with our pathetically weak bodies, we hardly put up a fight. Gustave may simply be
attacking out of sheer instinct, seeing prey and snapping at it the moment it has an opportunity-
but after dismembering a human he may realize what a small meal we are and then spit out its
victim. That would explain the discovery of so many mutilated bodies after a Gustave attack.
Of course for others Gustave is a good scapegoat for their own crimes,
and its believed that many guerillas dismember their captives and dump them in the rivers,
knowing the locals will be quick to blame Gustave instead of them. With little official monitoring
of Burundi’s wildlife, it can be hard to pin down an exact kill count for Gustave, but few doubt
that the big crocodile has an appetite for humans and has killed many dozens- likely hundreds.
Gustave has to date attacked women, children, and men, as well as livestock and pets.
Farmers have hunted the animal and even shot at him, all with little effect. Yet despite
his fearsome reputation, the government of Burundi has never called for his extermination,
and instead scientists have actually tried to capture Gustave in order to move him away
from people and better study him. One such capture attempt occurred in 2004, with a team
of scientists being granted two months to attempt to capture the killer croc. Because of a rapidly
deteriorating political situation, the local government was not able to ensure the safety of
the scientists past this time limit, and thus the team got to work immediately on trapping Gustave.
But first they had to find the legendary croc, a feat that was not so easy in the vast African
bush. With the aid of hot air balloons and motorized gliders though the team eventually
found Gustave and though they were unable to get close enough to properly measure him, imprints
left in the mud and photos of him sunbathing indicated he may be as big as 25 feet (7.6 m). If
true then that would make Gustave the largest crocodile ever recorded, far larger than Lolong,
the largest crocodile ever held in captivity who came in at a whopping 20 feet, 3 inches (6.17 m).
After finding Gustave the team set to work setting a series of cage-like traps for Gustave,
baiting them with meat hanging in hooks and an infrared camera to capture images at night.
Yet despite leaving the traps out for weeks, the closest they ever got to luring the croc in
was a brief video capture of a very large croc eyeing the hanging meat from the water just
outside the cage. Thinking that perhaps Gustave would respond better to live prey, the scientists
switched to placing live chickens inside the traps- though again the chickens were ignored,
interestingly enough not just by Gustave but by other crocs as well. When the chickens didn't
work, in a scene straight out of Jurassic Park, the scientists put live goats inside the cages,
and yet still Gustave nor any other crocodile struck. Or so they think- during one particularly
violent rain storm one of the cages slipped into the river and when scientists showed up the next
morning they found the goat gone. Whether it had broken free and escaped the sinking cage
or had actually been gobbled up by a giant croc and the cage failed to close is anyone's guess.
Frustrated by their inability to capture Gustave, the scientists switched methodology
and instead attempted to use tried and true snare traps. The snares had bait- typically large chunks
of meat- sitting on the ground, and once an animal went for the bait, the snare was sprung and would
wrap rope around the animal's body, holding it in place. Incredibly even these failed to capture or
even entice Gustave or any of the other crocs, and with time having run out, the scientists
were forced to leave the country. Since then, political chaos has discouraged further official
expeditions to the area, the political situation being nearly as dangerous as Gustave himself.
However the legend of Gustave had spread far and wide, and in 2010 a French naturalist named
Patrice Faye living in Burundi made new attempts to capture the legendary beast. He would shoot
Gustave, but not with a gun, but rather a tranquilizer dart. Gustave is likely immune
to bullets anyways, as scientists believe that his hide is so thick and his mass so large that
even a large caliber rifle can't penetrate deep enough into his body to cause serious damage-
a fact supported by the four distinct bullet scars that have been observed on Gustave's body.
Faye has another plan- shoot Gustave with a tranquilizer dart and stop his rampage
by moving him to a remote area free of people or perhaps a man-made enclosure.
Yet despite tracking the animal for three months, during which 17 attacks on people were recorded,
and giving out dozens of cell phones to locals who were instructed to immediately call Faye
upon sighting the monster, the quest to stop Gustave's rampage has failed.
Or perhaps not. The last confirmed sighting of Gustave was in 2015, and the apparently lack of
confirmed sightings since then may indicate that Gustave has at last met his end. In the end it may
simply have been the ever growing influence humans have on the local environment that did Gustave in,
with farmers expanding their fields and pushing wildlife out of the area,
the big game that Gustave relied on may simply no longer be available, and unable to hunt smaller
prey, Gustave may have starved to death. We may never know the giant killer croc's ultimate fate,
but for thousands of Africans living along the banks of the Ruzizi river,
it's still best to keep a sharp eye out when near the waters and never stray too far into them.
Thats our story. If you liked this video, make sure you check out our other video
Prison Escapes That Went Horribly Wrong. See you next time!