DAILY NATION (Nairobi, Kenya) 23 September 05 Tale of a hungry man in the jaws of a greedy crocodile (Ngumbao Kithi)
After a 30-minute fight, he gathered himself up and limped home – victorious.
He had a deep cut on his left thigh and others on his left arm, but he bore them proudly.
The battle ground, however resembled the scene of a fight between two bulls.
Looking back, he saw his opponent retreating into the waters he had earlier emerged from with the intention of claiming his life.
A crocodile opens its powerful jaws to gobble up some meat at a sanctuary. People have lost lives and limbs to the reptiles in the Tana Delta, which is the animals' natural habitat. . Photo by File
This is the story of 26-year-old Hillary Amuma, who escaped death narrowly after fighting a hungry crocodile on the banks of River Tana.
Mr Amuma only got away with his life because he remembered the traditional methods he was taught long ago on how to fight the reptile.
The methods call for courage, quick decision and precision or else one becomes food for the reptile.
It all started when Mr Amuma went home one afternoon and found that his wife had prepared ugali (maize flour meal) with nothing to go with it.
"I was hungry and had no penny in the pocket while the ugali prepared by my wife could not be eaten dry," he said.
He took his fishing gear and rushed to the river, about a kilometre away, hoping to catch some fish for the day’s lunch.
"I threw my hook into the river and caught one fish, went ahead and got a second one and a third. When I attempted to get the fourth one, suddenly I felt my left leg being pulled. I did not realise what was happening immediately," he said.
Something had bitten into his thigh, he knew, and when he tried to hit it with his left hand, it too was bitten. It soon dawned on him that he was in the jaws of ... a crocodile.
The short and lean man had to think very fast to save himself from the crocodile.
"I turned to face the animal that had opened its mouth wide open, ready to make mince meat of me. I looked back at the village, down the river bank, and there was no one in sight. I realised I was going to die," he says.
But with that realisation, came the flash of memory – of survival tactics he was taught by his grandfathers, now dead.
He threw away his fishing gear to prepare himself to live or die trying.
By then, the crocodile was pulling him deep into the river as his left hand bled profusely from bites sustained in the struggle to free himself.
With the index and middle fingers of his right hand, Mr Amuma jabbed into the crocodile’s eyes and jumped back at the first sign that the reptile's jaws were slackening.
But when he tried to run away, it leapt over him, jaws wide open. Again, it came in direct contact with the fingers aimed at both its eyes.
"This is how I escaped. The Pokomo say a crocodile fears being touched in the eye and once that is done, it becomes immobile," says Mr Amuma.
Bleeding profusely, he took a step back and watched the hungry reptile swim back into the river.
Since then, Mr Amuma believes the only way to fight a crocodile is to face it and aim for the eyes.
He is, however, quick to point out that this is a momentous challenge for anyone. Gathering the courage to fight a hungry reptile, more so, aiming for the eyes, with terror consuming every fibre of your body, is not easy.
Mr Amuma was admitted to Wema Dispensary, run by the Catholic Church, where he was treated and discharged, says Fr Anthony Ndei of Wema mission.
"He was allowed to go home after treatment but he spent two weeks coming to us as an outpatient and listening to his story, there are very few people who can gather the courage to face and engage a crocodile in a fight," says the priest.
As a precaution, women who fetch water at the river first have to throw stones into the water to disturb crocodiles preying on them, says a villager, Nagule Soka.
She says the traditional method is normally passed from generation to generation and has saved many women from attacks.
Ms Soka says the 10 kilometre canal dug by the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority and which is partly used, has become the crocodiles' breeding ground.
The villagers now get water from wells to avoid the frequent attacks by the crocodiles at the river.
An attempt by the Catholic Church for people to use water from the canal has not been successful despite numerous requests both verbally and officially to the project manager at Gamba.
The Kenya Wildlife Service must be held responsible for the killing and maiming of the people in Tana River, says the Catholic Church, which has sounded an alarm over the frequent attacks of the locals by crocodiles.
Another villager, Mr John Garise Jeremiah was attacked in his farm at around 10pm by an elephant.
The animal gored him and left him paralysed in one leg.
"The action was quick and swift, after the elephant dug its tusk in my buttocks, I was paralysed at once," he said.
A herd from which the elephant emerged also tried to attack his wife and children, with whom he was taking care of crops.
"I was rushed to the Wema Dispensary with the help of the Catholic fathers but they referred me to Ngao Hospital. Ngao Hospital could not handle my case and I was referred again to Kilifi District Hospital," said Mr Jeremiah.
But the Kenya Wildlife Service assistant director, Mr Benjamin Kavu, said his office was not aware of the attacks.
As a matter of procedure, the people are supposed to report any attacks to the local district warden and action is usually taken immediately, he said.
"Though wild animals are our natural heritage, we cannot allow the killing and maiming of our people in the name of protecting animals, we are ready to do everything possible to ensure our people are safe," he said.
Tale of a hungry man in the jaws of a greedy crocodile