This one was shot recently, apparently in the Mazoe river near Nyamapanda in Zim. The original photograph is on the wall of the firearms registry, at Morris Depot, and he got permission to take a photograph of it using his cellphone. It must be nearly 9 metres long.
"...Them, they were Giants!" J.A. Hunter describing the early explorers and settlers of East Africa
hunting is not about the killing but about the chase of the hunt.... Ortega Y Gasset
Posts: 3035 | Location: Tanzania - The Land of Plenty | Registered: 19 September 2003
I totally agree with previous posts, it's a cheated photo, those people are 5-6 ft behind it, giving it a much larger appearance, if it was really that big, all those folks could have been touching it in the pic!
Thats one thing I never do in my pics with trophies...I hate, reiterate, HATE it when people get 2 ft behind their animals to distort the sizes in the pics. It looks really dumb.. I don't understand why people do it. As if you can't tell?
Posts: 732 | Location: Texas | Registered: 05 October 2009
It might not be quite as big as looks at first glance but it's still a helluva big flatdog...... Forget for a moment whether the people are right up against it or not and instead count the people behind it. then decide how wide the average chest size of those people in the front row is.
I wouldn't like to guesstimate an exact size but I reckon it is a hucking fuge crocodile.
No doubt it is tricked up a good bit, but still a very nice croc. My guess, based on the bulk (or lack) the narrow snout compared to the rounded snout of a really big croc, I am going to go with 13 or 13.5 feet max. But a shooter for sure.
Oryx hunter - It was not intentional trick prhography. It was shot by a policeman- it had taken a child- all the locals wanted to be in the pic. There is a limit to what you can do with a kodac instamatic...BwanaMich- the size and weigt are recorded on the back of the photo 3,4m and c720kg.s
Posts: 3026 | Location: Zimbabwe | Registered: 23 July 2003
I used to row with hunyani rowing club and have many fond memories there. I never saw crocs or signs of them, and we used to often take a dip after a hard 2000m sprint. Bilharzia was my greatest fear....a dose of biltricide is almost as bad as the disease itself, but crocs were never a worry! That is until they did a croc census there, where two crocs were spotted (by night with light-shining I presume) and the larger individual was estimated at 13ft.
It is not impossible that this was the same individual responsible in the photo, which would probably have inhabited the upper, less utilized part of the dam/river. I doubt there are many dangerous (8-10+) ft crocs around there. We always knew there were crocs in every major river/dam system around Harare, and saw them, but never thought of them as a health-risk and we even used to dive off the boat on a hot day at Darwendale when fishing, as we never saw any crocs larger than 7-8ft and never thought of them a problem. I guess the crocs have since grown! There have been reports lately of people being taken at Chivero, where I have seen many small crocs, but again, these crocs have obviously grown to a size now where they are a threat to people. As soon as I heard there was a 13ft croc at Mazoe, I gave up swimming alltogether!
Looking at the photo, it is hard to determine the size, but with what looks like small water-hyacinth plants in the fore-ground, it is a fair to average-sized croc and certainly a capable child/man-eater. For an adult I think 11ft+ is generally considered as a man-eater, but many smaller crocs, even under 8ft have been known to attack people, especially during the breeding season, and although they might not be fatal to an adult, for kids swimming, it is very easy for a small 8ft croc to drown a child. These days swimming in big rivers/dams anywhere in Zim except the eastern highlands is probably not a good idea anymore (bilharzia for one at least).
Posts: 302 | Location: England | Registered: 10 November 2006
Make no mistake,it's a beast....but look at the jaw, and teeth. A large, old croc has a more defined head and skull.....more depth to it. This one looks youngish, and nowhere IMO anywhere near the length described.....cameras can bulls**t .... just what I take from the pic.
Posts: 536 | Location: The Plains of Africa | Registered: 07 November 2006
Didn't read closely enough...Nyamapanda, which is much further north-east down the Mazoe river than where the dam is located, would certainly expect to see many larger crocs that far north. Ja, the slender, not so blunt snout does suggest that it is not an ancient monster, even though the picture suggests otherwise! 700kg, wow, that sounds more like a 5m croc than a 3m one, wonder if that weight is not lbs?
Posts: 302 | Location: England | Registered: 10 November 2006
Gayana, I didn't think it was intentional, just merely someone's error interpretting. it's obviously not 27+ ft long, it would be a world record if so...and be very scary! hah
Posts: 732 | Location: Texas | Registered: 05 October 2009
Originally posted by Bwanamich: Don't the messenger pls!
Bwana: some people just can't help it, makes them feel better about themselves from their office chairs to question/critique everything of even the remotest potential exaggeration.
Thanks for posting the pic, it's very cool and the croc's massive.
Honkey: (Never thought I'd call a guy that, but in this case it appears appropriate.) I agree with you. The dimensions of that croc are very blown up. The photo has been doctored. Look at both his left feet. He looks like he has the paws of a T-Rex.
The dimensional width of some of the African boys are wider as well. They have narrow physiques normally, 34"-38" through the chest at best. They'd wear a 36 Regular suit jacket on the average.
Now using that as a barometer go back and look at the photograph and guestimate the croc's length. He would be 30 feet long! Impossible.
Now some of you guys see why we carry a tape measure. (Just messin' witcha Balla Balla.)
Finally, who shot it? We would have found out by now, through bush telegraph, name rank, serial # etc. of the fortunate hunter, if this was a real whopper.
Posts: 636 | Location: The Hills | Registered: 24 January 2006
I don't care how long he actually is...as Shikari said, he's one hucking fuge lizard.
Good hunting,
Andy
----------------------------- Thomas Jefferson: “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
Posts: 6711 | Location: Oklahoma, USA | Registered: 14 March 2001
I read this thread with great interest - because in my one time month in Africa I came to hate two critters - One was the hyena and the other was the croc -and I hated crocs with a passion. (They scared me so much - I was in Zimbabwe in May and was told to be wary about every waterhole,big and small -and saw crocs eyeing me from aways out in the water -and then sink down -sorta emphasizing why my PH told me never to go nearer than 10 feet to a waterhole. Oh,yeah, I should mention - I don't like critters that have me on their dinner menu! Fact.) However big that croc was (and he looked big enough to me,but, of course, I defer to the experts -no,guys, that's not a sarcastic remark)the best part of this thread is that I'm looking at a dead croc! (The only good croc is a dead croc)
Posts: 680 | Location: NY | Registered: 10 July 2009
at the very least that is one tall reptile. look at how long it's legs are! I'll bet he's shading 3 feet at the backline when standing up. that is one long iguana!!
Posts: 2267 | Location: Maine | Registered: 03 May 2007
Originally posted by ddrhook: get the rod and reel out time to go fishing
Mate, I reckon we'd need a harpoon for that bastard!
Steve all you need is a normal croc on you back yard femce a camera, and a photo-shop soft ware for your computer, and you can have one just like this one!
....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982
Hands of Old Elmer Keith
Posts: 14634 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: 08 June 2000
A friend sent me this youtube video about "the croc" and asked if I ever heard the story or seen the photo. I remembered the old thread about this lizard.
This is a really good video about him.
Kathi
kathi@wildtravel.net 708-425-3552
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."
Posts: 9535 | Location: Chicago | Registered: 23 July 2003
That photo - which was taken in Zimbabwe - has been making the rounds on the 'Net for years. It's pure prestidigitation. African Hunter magazine had the whole story, and in fact the animal's length was worked out there at about 14 feet. A YouTube channel that debunks myths also featured it.
Just this week, a video is making the rounds of a gator that looks absolutely enormous. It looks enormous because a bunch of people are several feet away in the background. People swear it is over 20 feet long. The reality is that it is 12 feet long. A decent gator to be sure but not the giant it was made out to be. Pure optical illusion like the one in this pic.
The gator video is fun. I showed it to my grandsons, 4 and 19 months. They both sat in a recliner watching it. The youngest just kept saying bite over and over. When it was over he would say again to watch it again. The older brother just kept saying how it was a nice gator and it wouldn't bite you. You could tell from its' girth that it is well fed. And, it had no fear of the people.
Tom
Posts: 341 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 21 November 2014
Originally posted by TWall: The gator video is fun. I showed it to my grandsons, 4 and 19 months. They both sat in a recliner watching it. The youngest just kept saying bite over and over. When it was over he would say again to watch it again. The older brother just kept saying how it was a nice gator and it wouldn't bite you. You could tell from its' girth that it is well fed. And, it had no fear of the people.
Tom
Golf course gators usually are not much of a problem.
the messenger pls!
