Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in light of the movie coming out in a couple weeks (primevil) i looked up the national geographic article from march 2005. was a good read i thought. anyways, any of you croc experts know if they have ever gone back and tried to loacte him since march 2005. are their more photos of him. tried a search on google and really didnt find to much. thanks

mark

Apparently, he's still eluding people.
NY Times article

I did a cull of the archives ... nil since 2005.

AFP (Paris, France) 30 March 05 Burundi's jungle reptiles find a home with amateur French herpetologist
Bujumbura, Burundi (AFP): The rusty iron gate in front of an unassuming stucco bungalow in Burundi's capital squeaks open, manned by a pygmy whose startling presence offers only a hint of the exotica that lies inside.
In the garden, two pythons slither in their glass cage while two young crocodiles splash about in a nearby shallow pool. A giant boa constrictor naps in his coop facing the front door and several vipers snooze under the porch.
Welcome to Patrice Faye's wild kingdom: a collection of rare and dangerous jungle fauna the Frenchman began assembling here 27 years ago in an effort to quench an insatiable passion for animals, particularly reptiles.
"My garden has everything that creeps and bites," Faye tells a visitor with a smile and gleam in his eye, boasting of the crocodiles he captured in the Rusizi river on Burundi's western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"The crocs, I got them in the Rusizi," he says, adding that their capture potentially rescued them from death at the hands of villagers seeking their valuable skins or tender meat. "At least at my house, they are not hunted."
To keep his collection replenished, Faye scours Burundi's hills and lakes in his small battered white pick-up truck, looking for new beasts to capture or buy from local merchants or trappers.
Some wildlife he keeps, but other acquisitions he sells abroad, to the local university or museums, or donates them to the Bujumbura reptile park where he works as a volunteer.
Faye, a 50-year-old single father of two, has lived in Burundi since the early 1980s and refused to leave even in 1993 at the height of the tiny central African nation's 11-year civil war that claimed the lives of 300,000 people.
"I was on a world tour," the self-confessed adventurer and plumber turned forester turned builder says in his living room, filled with trophies from his travels: African masks, a hippopotamus skull and tortoise shells.
"I arrived from South Africa on a bicycle and then sailed the Great Lakes before settling in Burundi," he recounts.
Born in the southeastern French city of Lyon, Faye also has a love for theater, especially impersonations by late French actor Andre Raimbourg, known to most by his stage and screen name Bourvil.
"But today I am a passionate herpetologist," he says, adding, however, that he makes his living in the construction business, a relatively staid occupation that involves few of the risks that capturing reptiles does.
But not all his efforts are successful and Faye recalls numerous failed attempts to capture "Gustave," a seven-meter (23-foot) long, one tonne crocodile living in the Rusizi that is believed to have devoured between 200 and 300 people.
The elusive and deadly Gustave eluded local hunters who eventually abandoned their quest, leading Faye to make his own try with specialists from France and South Africa in 2002.
A massive empty iron cage in his garden testifies to their failure to snare what Faye calls a "fascinating monster" from the bowels of prehistory.
"We tried to trap Gustave ... We put bait in the cage, but I think he was too smart for us and we failed, much to my happiness," Faye says, admitting to a begrudging respect for the man-eating crocodile.
"The more we tried to catch him, the more I grew to admire him," he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1547&ncid=1547&e=1&u=/afp/20050330/lf_afp/afplifestyleburundi_050330151142

DIARIO VASCO (San Sebastián, Spain) 18 April 05 El cocodrilo asesino - 'Gustave', un ejemplar centenario de siete metros que pesa más de una tonelada, ha matado a más de 200 personas en el lago Tanganika (Isabel Coello)
Más de doscientas víctimas en los últimos años y unas medidas que lo sitúan entre los cocodrilos más grandes del mundo han fraguado la leyenda de Gustave, un ejemplar que vive en el Lago Tanganika y que ha escapado todo intento de captura.
«Calculamos que tiene entre seis y siete metros y pesa más de una tonelada. Es uno de los mayores cocodrilos del mundo, si no el más grande», explica Patrice Faye, especialista en reptiles francés de 50 años que lleva veinte viviendo en la región de los Grandes Lagos del este de Africa.
Fue el propio Faye quien bautizó a Gustave, al que comenzó a estudiar en 1998 después de que el cocodrilo devorara a uno de los pescadores. «Investigué durante seis meses y me di cuenta de que había un cocodrilo que atacaba a los humanos. Contabilicé 17 muertos en tres meses».
Faye descubrió un ejemplar «realmente grande» en la Reserva Nacional de Rusizi, situada al borde del lago, en la frontera entre Burundi y la República Democrática del Congo, y habitada por hipopótamos, cocodrilos y antílopes. «Cada vez que el cocodrilo volvía al parque, paraban los ataques. Tiene que ser él, me dije», agregó
Los cocodrilos se alimentan normalmente de peces, pero cuando alcanzan una avanzada edad --y Faye calcula que por su tamaño, Gustave puede tener cerca de cien años- pesan demasiado, pierden velocidad y atacan presas fáciles de capturar.
Faye, que cría cobras, pitones y otras serpientes en el jardín de su casa de Buyumbura, la capital de Burundi, reconoce que no existe un recuento oficial de las víctimas, pero que todos los años desaparece gente en la rivera burundesa del Tanganyika.
«Cuando Gustave deja Rusizi y va hacia el sur del lago, a veces se producen hasta veinte ataques en un mes. Calculamos que en total ha debido de matar entre doscientas y trescientas personas en los últimos años».
Audifax Hatungimana se cuenta entre la decena de personas que han sobrevivido a un ataque de Gustave, aunque la dentellada le dejó sin la pierna derecha.
El joven, de veinte años, tenía catorce cuando fue atacado por sorpresa por el cocodrilo cuando se bañaba junto a sus amigos en el lago.
«Sentí un tirón muy fuerte en la pierna y cuando me giré vi un enorme cocodrilo con mi pierna en su boca», recuerda Audifax.
El joven se resistió y pescadores que faenaban muy cerca golpearon con sus palos el agua y al propio Gustave, que finalmente dejó libre su presa.
«Había oído hablar de que había cocodrilos en el lago pero pensaba que eran cuentos», dice Audifax, que dejó el colegio a raíz del accidente y hoy trabaja como peluquero, apoyado en su muleta. Desde el accidente no ha puesto un pie en el Tanganika, pero se ha reconciliado con su atacante: «No quiero que lo maten».
En el Lago Victoria, en la cercana Uganda, las autoridades capturaron el pasado 8 de marzo un enorme cocodrilo de cinco metros y una tonelada de peso, que fue llevado a una granja para evitar que lo mataran los pescadores locales, quienes le atribuyen la muerte de decenas de personas.
La captura de Gustave es complicada. «Construí una jaula trampa de diez metros de largo por tres de ancho para cazarle» explica Faye. Tamaño artilugio, transportado por cuarenta hombres, fue depositado en Rusizi con cebos dentro, y vigilado durante tres semanas, pero el cocodrilo nunca cayó en la trampa.
http://servicios.diariovasco.com/pg050418/prensa/noticias/Contraportada/200504/18/DVA-ULT-079.html

AFRICAN CHURCH INFORMATION SERVICE 12 May 03 World's Largest Crocodile to Become a Tourist Attraction (Charles Bigirimana)
Bujumbura: The world's largest crocodile, which was recently discovered by a French environmentalist, Patrice Faye, on the Burundi side of the Rusizi Delta, will soon become a tourist attraction in the country.
The seven metre long reptile, weighing about a tonne, is believed to be between 80 and 100 years old.
Gustave, as the environmentalist named it, has devoured 17 known people this year alone. It is believed that it has been feeding on human flesh, mainly swimmers, for the last 30 years.
A documentary titled Discovery and Attempt to Capture Gustave, has already been produced by a French team called Gedeon Programme.
Another, titled If Gustave Was Captured, is in preparation.
The French team has failed twice to capture the crocodile. There are plans to make a third attempt during the period between May and December, when crocodile males eat and move less, while waiting for females. The best time is believed to be when there are no rains, when water levels are low.
Gustave is already attracting tourists despite the war on both sides of Rusizi River, along Burundi's border with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Two Burundi rebel groups, the National Council for Defence of Democracy-Forces for Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), and the Party for Liberation of Hutu People (Palipehutu-FNL), are fighting government forces.
Environmentalists have already embarked on rehabilitation of Rusizi natural reserve - at the border between Burundi and the DRC - by clearing up roads leading to Gustave's habitat, as well as hiring uniformed guards. There are hopes that the capture of Gustave will generate publicity for the reserve.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200305140597.html

REUTERS 05 August 02 Frenchman hunts giant crocodile (Maria Eismont)
Ruzizi Natural Reserve, Burundi (Reuters): With his leathery back basking in the hot Burundian sun, Gustave lounges on a rock near the Ruzizi river, oblivious to a plot to end his century-long freedom.
Gustave is a crocodile -- the biggest and most dangerous in the tiny central African country.
And Patrice Faye, a French snake dealer who came to Burundi 20 years ago, wants to catch him.
"In the beginning I wanted to kill this crocodile because he eats people, that's the reality," Faye, who has been following Gustave for eighteen months, told Reuters.
"But then I followed him, and I felt that it would be interesting to capture him, because while following him I have almost developed an affection for him.
"He is maybe 100 years old, so he could well be the oldest living being in Burundi. It would be a shame to kill him for a trophy."
Gustave, according to Faye, has killed about 50 people since he was born. The beady-eyed reptile weighs about a tonne -- twice as much as an average crocodile -- and is thought to be at least six metres (20 feet) long.
A special French team is coming in September to take part in his capture, and if all goes according to plan, Gustave will be enticed by an animal used as bait into a huge metal trap.
He will then be transported to the capital Bujumbura, where tourists will be able to pay to come to see him.
Snake Dealer
Faye's love of animals does not stop at the crocodile. The garden of his suburban home in the capital Bujumbura is a veritable menagerie of snakes, birds of prey, guinea pigs, parrots and even a house-trained jackal called Le Pen after the right-wing French politician whom Faye says he resembles.
Arriving in Burundi in the 1980s, the Frenchman quickly built a reputation based on his passion for exotic and dangerous creatures.
Capturing snakes and selling them to European markets was a highly profitable business at the time, but a civil war which broke out in Burundi in 1993 has taken its toll.
Few airlines fly to Bujumbura, tourism is all but unheard of and Faye says it is difficult to make a living as a snake dealer.
"I only manage to make a sale about twice a year," he said. "It's quite hard to survive on it now."
Not everyone is impressed with Faye's maverick projects, saying he takes advantage of local know-how to earn his trade.
Every Wednesday, dozens of Twa hunters, forest dwellers ethnically close to pygmies, converge on a roadside market in Burundi's northern Bubanza province to sell snakes, frogs and birds they have managed to catch.
Covering the animals -- many of which are potentially deadly -- with bags made from palm leaves, the Twa say Faye, who often buys the creatures they have spent hours tracking through the forests, owes them his success.
"This white man became what he is now because of us," Bwaniki Mukosomali, an old snake hunter, told Reuters. "But for a job that we are doing he is paying us peanuts."
But Faye, who lives a relatively modest lifestyle by Western standards, could argue that he provides poor tribesman with a rare chance to earn money in a country where war has destroyed much of the economy.
Fishermen Unfazed
Gustave is not likely to be missed from the Ruzizi river where he lives among the hippos and local fishermen who risk their lives to fish in the murky waters.
Rebels are thought to hide out in the thick bushes that line the river, but nearby villagers are seldom fazed. Hunger, for them, is a bigger risk than either rebels or crocodiles.
"We can see the danger when Gustave is in the water," one fisherman said. "But we continue to fish to feed our families. If the crocodile kills you -- I guess that means your time has come."
For Faye, his project to turn Gustave into an attraction for any future tourists and make the Ruzizi river safe for villagers could be a dream come true.
The Frenchman is visibly excited about his self-appointed mission. Huge metallic beams lie in the courtyard of his house, ready to build the trap that will carry Gustave's giant body.
A book about crocodiles sits on his table, open to a diagram of what the trap should look like.
"I think we all have a sort of childhood dream which follows us until we die," he said, playing with the baby owl perched on top of his armchair. "And Gustave is part of that dream. Maybe one day I'll die in Gustave's jaws. I'm not really in a hurry for that, but it would be a beautiful death..."
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=4DBGA3EB3H0VSCRBAEKSFFA?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=1289923

BBC (London, UK) 29 November 02 Burundi's not so gentle giant (Christophe Nkurunziza)
Bujumbura: Gustave is being feted in Burundi as possibly Africa's largest crocodile. Some are even saying he could be one of the world's biggest fresh water crocodiles.
The reptile, people are guessing could be as long as six metres and as heavy as a tonne, which, even allowing for exaggeration, would have him rivalling some of the largest saltwater crocodiles recorded.
He lives on a river island near Lake Tanganyika, in Burundi, and was given his name by Patrice Faye, a Frenchman who has lived in Burundi for about 20 years and has a keen interest in animals.
Mr Faye, who has been studying Gustave for several years, speaks about him with some fear.
"He is enormous. He is three times as big as the other crocodiles in Burundi. He is not very fast and cannot feed on what other crocodiles in Burundi eat - fish and small mammals. He attacks slow prey which are easy to capture."
"Gustave is very dangerous when he gets out of the Ruzizi River to mate with females.
"He travels all the way to the areas of Rumonge and Minago and eats fishermen and bathers en route," Mr Faye says.
"He can eat 10, 15 or 20 people along the bank."
"One year, I followed the path he took on one of his forays and 17 people had been eaten between Kanyosha and Minago, and Kabezi and Magara."
However, Gustave spends most of his days near his island.
According to local people many have tried to kill him and failed.
Animal conservation agencies are saying he should be protected and Mr Faye agrees saying killing him should be "out of the question".
"It would be a great shame as he is a phenomenon we want to study scientifically."
However, catching Gustave has proved difficult so far.
"I have made a trap to try to catch him: 10 metres long, two metres wide and 1.50 metres high. It is gigantic, 40 men were needed to transport it," Mr Faye says.
"We placed it into the Ruzizi, put bait inside and spent the whole night in the river with cameras.
"But it was a total failure. The crocodile was parading outside the cage, teasing us, and we were unable to catch it.
"We wanted to catch it to make a report which will be shown around the world and make Gustave and Burundi famous," he said.
But for now Burundi's killer crocodile remains free.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2520815.stm
Photo: http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38521000/jpg/_38521719_croco150.jpg

With this movie coming out, I hope it doesn't stir a bunch of hunters to go out there and turn him into a trophy or a bunch of handbags and belt. From what I've heard, he has already of bullet wounds due to the civil unrest there.

I was hoping Dr. Brady Barr would have been succesful in capturing this beastie a couple of years ago, but he and his crew turned around due to the war happening there.

Now, maybe with more publicity, he will go back and relocate Gustave (like an live animal exhibit)where he (the big croc) can make money for the people of Burundi and not adorning some fools wall, floor, arm or waist.

Good Luck Gustave.

What movie is coming out? Is for National Geographic or Animal Planet? Thanks.

"Primeval"

Another "supposedly true" story that Hollywood is blowing and twisting way out of proportion.

I think Gustave has been documented with less than 10 human attacks/killings. But I think the local villagers (and I believe a distant beach resort) has blame Gustave for all people who are missing.

National Geographic has a video on Gustave that is way more true than the upcoming movie. I think its called "Capture the Killer Croc". Its about Patrice, a part time herptalogist trying to capture and relocate this giant croc into a man made pond.

Gam

Go to www.youtube.com and search for "gustav crocodile" and you will come up with a less than 10 minute video of National Geographics video on Gustav.

Gam

A French film documentary was made on the capture attempts of Gustave. The American version of it is titled "Capturing the Killer Croc."
website

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Israel Dupont
Winter Haven, FL