https://allafrica.com/stories/202212140051.html



Uganda: Giant Man-Eating Crocodile of Buvuma Captured After Two Year Hunt



13 DECEMBER 2022
Nile Post News (Kampala)
By Samuel Muhimba


Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials have finally captured a giant man-eating crocodile believed to have been terrorising locals of Bwema along Lake Victoria shore in Buvuma District.

The 750-kilogram crocodile which is estimated to be about 75 years was captured on Sunday after months of failed attempts.

Locals said that the crocodile had claimed lives of five people in the area, with the recent victim being Henry Muluti, who was buried in August.

"We were three on the boat when the crocodile attacked my brother while we were fishing on the lake. We tried to save him but failed," Godfrey Luwagga a brother to the deceased said.

Locals also disclosed that the same crocodile had been attacking their domestic animals including ducks, goats and dogs, and that they had been living in fear.

Following several outcries from the locals, UWA officials camped in the area for a week before finally capturing the giant crocodile on Sunday.


Upon capturing it, the giant crocodile was brought to the shore as locals looked on in relief.

Speaking after securing the crocodile, Chris Mugabo an official from UWA said the hunt for the predator had been on for the last two years but they had until Sunday failed to capture it.

"We have tried several times to capture it but all in vain. However, when we came back today, we tried by all means to catch it because it had claimed many lives," Mugabo said.

Meanwhile, the police commander for Bwema, Paul Mpooya blamed the attacks on fishermen he says encroach on the crocodiles' habitat.

"For instance, the deceased from Misoozi, after retrieving his body, it was discovered that indeed he had been attacked by the crocodile. However, government could not compensate his family because he had been involved in poor fishing," Mpooya said.

Meanwhile, after securing it, the crocodile was taken to Karuma Murchison Falls where it will be kept.

In recent years, there have been increasing reported cases of crocodile attacks on humans in the country especially along the shores of Lake Victoria.

In 2005, a crocodile named "Osama" that lived on L.Victoria was captured after having reportedly eaten about 80 people during its 14-year reign of terror, between 1991 to 2005.

Most of the attacks according to experts, are attributed to human encroachment on crocodile habitats particularly mangrove swamps.

Those areas are as much human habitat as it is crocs. Man lives near rivers.

Human and animal have to co-exist, but no one animal has more right to an area to live than a Human. We are natural too.

The croc should have been shot.

I wish they would show a picture. Also tell how long it is .

should of been shot after it killed one person.

This is an ongoing saga and a similar report was posted just a couple of years ago.

As long as crocs exist in Lake Victoria and life on its shores remains similar another report will come out in a few more.

Crocs don’t share our world views — they just see food.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
This is an ongoing saga and a similar report was posted just a couple of years ago.

As long as crocs exist in Lake Victoria and life on its shores remains similar another report will come out in a few more.

Crocs don’t share our world views — they just see food.

My Father was based at Lake Victoria when I was a kid. There was game back then and Crocs had food. What with overfishing these crocs now have very few options.

When I was working Lower Zambezi there were 20 people being taken a month from a 100km stretch of river!

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
This is an ongoing saga and a similar report was posted just a couple of years ago.

As long as crocs exist in Lake Victoria and life on its shores remains similar another report will come out in a few more.

Crocs don’t share our world views — they just see food.

My Father was based at Lake Victoria when I was a kid. There was game back then and Crocs had food. What with overfishing these crocs now have very few options.

When I was working Lower Zambezi there were 20 people being taken a month from a 100km stretch of river!

Same with the Limpopo between Zimbabwe and RSA.

Kathi I love your posts, but we need to see full length pictures of the Crocodile!

quote:

Originally posted by DTala:
should of been shot after it killed one person.

Well it depends if they were Democrats or Republicans ...

quote:

Meanwhile, the police commander for Bwema, Paul Mpooya blamed the attacks on fishermen he says encroach on the crocodiles' habitat.

"For instance, the deceased from Misoozi, after retrieving his body, it was discovered that indeed he had been attacked by the crocodile. However, government could not compensate his family because he had been involved in poor fishing," Mpooya said.

Africa

https://nilepost.co.ug/2022/12...after-two-year-hunt/


Here is the link to the original article from the NilePost, I do not know if the photo in the article is "the crocodile".

Not much of a pic, but at least you can see that it has a giant head. Shooting it would have been my recommendation from the very start. All you are doing by capturing it and relocating it is moving the danger to a different area for a different group of people to be terrified. PDD

I dunno.

I get very little annoyance when poachers have accidents in the course of their illicit behaviors.

That being said, animals do become creatures of habit, and the risk of recurrence is there. I see both sides.

Should an animal that has acted naturally be killed because people did things they shouldn’t?

This from a guy who shot a big croc.

It could be somewhat hypocritical for me.

I have yet to take a croc. Always at the end of the list and always run out of time. But they are a force of nature. Can't blame them for their nature, but they are a definite problem in places.

Hopefully next year.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
I dunno.

I get very little annoyance when poachers have accidents in the course of their illicit behaviors.

That being said, animals do become creatures of habit, and the risk of recurrence is there. I see both sides.

Should an animal that has acted naturally be killed because people did things they shouldn’t?

This from a guy who shot a big croc.

It could be somewhat hypocritical for me.

Man has always lived on rivers. Even the great hunters of yester year from Selous to Brll recognized poachers from native folks scrapping to make a living in a third world country. We have no idea the fish he was taking, we have no idea if he was selling said fish or consuming, we have no idea about any others this Croc killed.

Raccoons like corn. I do not hate raccoons, but when they get in my corn patch, I shoot them. It ain’t their fault. It ain’t my fault. It is the way of things.

This croc has no more right to life and no more right to the river then the people living on it. Transferring him simply moves the danger to other people. The croc should have been culled, shot, killed.

I would rather have more crocs and fewer Ugandans, but that’s just me.

I've done some fishing near Murchison Falls and saw a few giant crocs on the banks of the Nile.

quote:

I would rather have more crocs and fewer Ugandans, but that’s just me.

How about the toddler “swallowed by the hippo” in the other post? There are some jacked up folks on the forum these days

I think the authorities did well to move it to Murchison as at least there is good game and fish there

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://nilepost.co.ug/2022/12...after-two-year-hunt/


Here is the link to the original article from the NilePost, I do not know if the photo in the article is "the crocodile".

Thank you!

This fellow must have fattened himself during the days of Iddi Amin to get to his current size.

Related question: Is Gustav a myth, or is he dead or still around?

Gustav is real. I saw a documentary years ago.

My point above is that eliminating this croc really serves no purpose…no one really knows if this was “the culprit” or “the sole culprit.” Lake Victoria is huge. I am sure there are many many crocs in her waters that have partaken of human flesh.

Crocs are opportunists…food is food…Africa is Africa.

The Limpopo is chucked full of man eating crocs that take advantage of Zimbabweans crossing to work in RSA in the wet season. It is accepted in that area and nothing is ever said about it.

The same can be said about the lions of Kruger and Mozambiqueans.

I don’t know re Gustav, but that photo looks odd to me.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Related question: Is Gustav a myth, or is he dead or still around?

They tried to trap Gustav and no sightings since and so probably succumbed to old age

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Related question: Is Gustav a myth, or is he dead or still around?

This photo is from the Gremeti river crossing

The biggest croc I have ever seen was feeding on a hippo in Lower Zambezi and that thing was truly massive and measured it with my sixteen-foot boat and put him at 18

Great croc but seem to remember about 14 and my best was 16 feet plus with half its tail missing and snapped my 12mm winch cable and buckled my car! We had seen this dinosaur lying up in the Park and he fed at night and on the last day of hunting I walked in to take down the blind and there he was

Yikes!

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Related question: Is Gustav a myth, or is he dead or still around?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_(crocodile)