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BOTSWANA PRESS AGENCY (Gaberones, Botswana) 03 October 05 Mischievous Sam the crocodile
Samochima: Sam was undoubtedly one of the oldest crocodiles to have existed in the Okavango River feasting on farmers cattle and even on Samochima and Shakawe residents.
He was the doyen of the river. He could have up to three females without the interruption of other males.
For the past 55 or so years, Sam, so named by Samochima residents after years of being terrorised by reptile, was well known around the area for his mischievous deeds and behaviour.
BOPA visited Sam at his retirement home at the Krokovango Farm. He was captured and kept in isolation five months ago.
We do not want to risk keeping him with the other crocodiles because he is too big and would hurt or kill other males, explains farm manager Braam Le Roux.
We stood there watching in astonishment this massive seven-metre creature resting its jagged, tough and scaly body with its mouth open.
He is always irate as he needs a wife, but we will only find him one in summer, explains Roux.
It was not easy to capture him, he was wild, more especially that the river was his natural habitat.
They had for a long time wished to capture him and by the time they did they had lost hope as he was missed twice.
We spent two sleepless nights by the riverside, risking our lives waiting for the big man to emerge to get the donkey meat we used as bait.
The meat was in a specially-designed cage, big enough to accommodate his length. The cage was put by the river in such a way that it would be difficult for the crocodile to recognise it, explains Le Roux.
He says to capture a crocodile, one has to be brave and fearless. As soon as Sam got into the cage, it was closed before he realised what was going on.
The cage was towed by tractor to where Sam was eventually retired. One of those who lost their livestock to Sam is 54-year-old Karamena Ruveta.
Hei, kwena eo e tona, e ka ja motho e le nosi mme ya seka ya kgora (This crocodile is big enough to eat a whole person and still not be satisfied), says Ruveta.
Ruveta had never imagined being a victim until February last year when he found his cattle lying limbless by the river bank after being attacked by the crocodile.
I was one of the first people to see Sam at his new home and happy because since his capture, you seldom hear people complaining about their livestock being killed.
There may be other crocodiles as dangerous as Sam but they are not as vicious as he was, says Ruveta.
Asked about the crocodiles feeding pattern, Le Roux says donkey meat is its favourite. The donkey is cut into small chunks and then thrown to him.
You should not dare give it the whole donkey otherwise he would continue eating without sparing some.
We monitor how much he eats. Sam has not eaten anything since the beginning of winter but he will be fed again in summer, he explains.
Le Roux says caging him is not cruelity nor denying Sam the opportunity to enjoy his habitat but preventing him from being butchered by villagers who have been baying for his blood.
We are interested in contributing to conservation of the Okavango Delta, we do not encourage getting rid of wildlife because that could damage the ecosystem.
Of course, everybody knows they are a big threat to the community. Sam is one of the 2 400 crocodiles kept at the Krokovango Farm. We captured 10 crocodiles from the Okavango River, including Sam, and bought 250 in South Africa.
They have been nurturing them closely and many bred on the farm. We collect most of the eggs at the river and others from the crocodiles we keep.
The eggs are kept in an incubator at the hatchery, explained one of the farm guides, Nomsa Tomeletso.
That is how we came to have such a big number of crocodiles, she says. The hatchery has about 2 000 baby crocodiles averaging six months and they will be transferred to another holding when they are two and a half years old.
The farm managers says they are in the process of opening a mini crocodile abattoir and will export crocodile skin and meat to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and China.
We have an information and research centre where we want to explore vast knowledge about crocodiles including fish.
We also teach the community conservation and make them aware of the importance of the ecosystem, he says.
Mischievous Sam the crocodile

hi...

this must be a really impresive croc to see...

does any one knows what happen with Gustave, one of the bigest crocs in africa...???

best wishes

Rick