Burundi Deadliest Crocodile (Tanganyika)

in the heart of Africa in the region of the Great Lakes the waters are ruled by a terrifying creature the largest Nile crocodile ever observed in the wild over the past 10 years nearly 300 deaths have been attributed to this maneater to stop the killing two men and a woman will attempt the unthinkable to capture this dangerous giant alive burundi a tiny state in East Africa between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo here stretches the vast plain of rusizi the National Park since 1990 the rusizi river courses through the park carrying muddy waters from the mountains of the Congo to the deep blue basin of Lake Tanganyika the great Delta between the two is the perfect habitat for crocodiles and it's irresistible terrain for those who hunt them hey now you are you're crazy fishing here don't you know it's full of crocodiles yes I know it's full of crocodiles if they attack you won't even have time to see them coming that's suicidal you're going to be eaten alive Patrese PHA is a herpetologist who has lived in Burundi for 20 years he is at home here but he knows a killer crocodile is stalking the Delta protecting people from crocodiles and crocodiles from people has become an urgent mission for Patrice during his frequent patrols he often finds illegal traps the reserve is full of them the crocodiles are killed for their skins despite the fact that they are protected by international law I'm excited look at the head he's wounded he's been there for several days migrating this little crocodile will likely survive despite its wounds as for the poachers hunting in these waters is not only illegal it can be deadly once fully grown this crocodile will join the ranks of great predators who patrol these waters lady mr. Kozlov or something on the surface of the water catches the attention of Patrice a large antelope asset Otunga has been killed the powerful jaws of a crocodile tow the 500-pound victim into the river the crocodile is large but it is not the monster that has been terrorizing local villagers news of a possible crocodile attack brings Petrus to the shores of Lake Tanganyika the body is largely intact and in the absence of witnesses nothing proves to police that the guilty party is the crocodile everyone is talking about but with a known man-eaters stalking these waters news of any death is bound to increase the anxiety of the villagers at least knows it's just a matter of time before the crocodile claims another victim and the people look to him for help after two years of investigation that lease has come to the startling realization that a single animal is responsible for nearly every attack a maneater a monster he named the creature Gustave it is a name which now strikes fear in the hearts of people across Boogedy the testimony of a nearly disemboweled fisherman is distressingly common no come on this planet right Lucas can you try to mookie mumbo copies come here come on you forgot my trophy [ __ ] many in the village have lost loved ones and Patrice is determined to help them we're gonna catch this crocodile now we're gonna trap them it'll be difficult but we're gonna get them Bujumbura is the capital of Burundi a country in turmoil for the past 10 years in 1993 a bloody civil war erupted between the opposing communities of Hutus and Tutsis costing the lives of two hundred thousand people in a period of only a few months today harmony is precarious the peace is fragile in this tense political climate that lease has a meeting with the Minister of the Environment his goal is to obtain permission to capture the giant crocodile you fool absolutely no absolutely no concat do suka Cody sit down Z he's a danger for the entire coast from resume bra right tumanako cami nagoya can't you Medici about you Patrice insists on the fact that the animal is exceptional and worthy of study even if he's a maneater he mustn't be killed everything must be done to capture him alive the minister gives his approval but tells Patrice that he has only two months to act after that a change of government risks plunging the entire country into civil war sixty days is all at least we'll have he will have to move quickly to capture Gustav but Lee's designs a trap it must be large enough and strong enough to hold the giant nearly 30 feet in length and weighing more than a ton it will be a cage like no other for the safety of the crocodile and anyone involved in the capture the design must be considered carefully ah Patrice first works out his plans with the model to optimize the armament system he has conceived the success of the project rests entirely upon its reliability patrisse and his men start building the cage everything has been designed so as not to hurt the animal the bull chats turned outward and any sharp angles are carefully ground down 72 pieces make up this gigantic puzzle and it needs to be assembled with the greatest care at Reese's mold vision begins to take shape but will the cage withstand the assaults of an enraged crocodile that weighs more than a ton at least has long been aware of the challenge of keeping the crocodile alive once it is captured he needs the help of an expert mark against wanna was immediately enthusiastic about the project this 28 year old scientist lives in Tunisia where he runs a large farm with over 400 Nile crocodiles but an animal the size of Gustav will push Mark's experience to the limit did it motivate occupied is over I Dennis I see Patrice takes mark to Gustav's territory rusizi National Park after ten years of war and neglect the park is desperately in need of attention and protection in the 1950s Buffalo elephants and warthogs inhabited the plain but they were progressively exterminated by man the only survivor among the large mammals has been the hippopotamus and they share the river in an uneasy coexistence with the Nile crocodiles well you see this is one of the places where the crocodile likes to come because there are banks of white sands here and he can lay half immersed but it's been two months since we last song we know that he's somewhere in the north because we had reports of accidents he goes off like that quite regularly he hunts and then he comes back and then he's pretty calm a dune islands situated at the mouth of the rusizi offer an ideal resting place for Nile crocodiles seeing them in such numbers and in excellent health it appears tomorrow that they have not suffered too much from damage to their environment crocodiles have managed to survive on this planet for over 200 million years large Crocs like this one measure over 10 feet according to Belize Gustav could be twice as big you in Burundi everyone is talking about Gustav but the people who have actually seen him are rare between myth and reality some believe he measures 40 feet some say he's red others say yellow with Tufts of grass growing out of his head Gustav is no longer just an animal he is a legend a demon a demon Patrice has seen up close only once when was this video made what's it though I think it was in 99 98 99 what a bear without of it bears the Beast it is hard to determine the exact size of the crocodile from these images but bethi's believes he has 18 to 21 feet long and weighs more than a ton if the size is staggering this is prehistoric isn't it I've never seen anything like this there you see you have the impression that you've stumbled across something dead that's been sculpted in the ground look at that he's a very peculiar head you see the two bony crest he has on either side of his head what I regret is not having seen his teeth because we were too close that's the mistake we made we passed in front and he'd OVA Way isn't that great Bujumbura lies on the shore of Lake Tanganyika the second largest lake in Africa Gustave sometimes makes incursions into the lake the crocodile is bold and even hunts along the city's busiest beaches the threat of Gustave now hangs over the capital itself Patrice has invited South African scientist dr. alison leslie to join the team a fellow member of the crocodile specialist group along with mark alison has rare expertise in the capture of Nile crocodiles she has successfully trapped over 400 of these animals it is experience that will prove essential this is again it is to me that this is the crocodile is about this big you use already the big lip this you sue I've never seen a cage this size well because I've probably never seen a crocodile yes eggsy good okay now that's perfect that's good because I mean he's such a huge animal from what I hear that you know to actually pull him out backwards it's gonna be too big a job this is this is great now this already work life a lot easier good okay good good good that's good for ten years most scientists have avoided war-torn Burundi but Alison has not hesitated to come here the chance to study a crocodile like the Gustav is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but Gustav has not been seen for nearly two months and before they can catch him they must find him and despite his great size in the vast expanse of the rusizi Delta it's a daunting challenge Ladislas a park ranger takes her on a hunt in search of Gustav's tracks beautiful beautiful and water flows a fast the roux CC is a powerful river with a strong current even near the lake crocodiles typically prefer slow-moving water and Allison knows this will affect the placement of the cage they will need to locate a protected bank where crocodiles prefer to hunt the fisherman thinks he's safe but actually there lot more crocodiles in this area and any one of them you could turn grab him the two fishermen this okay the ones next to next anyone is right he's about one and a half meters from the water's edge you know how dangerous that is any crocodile two meters and bigger could get him he's actually he's catching fish - hmm for days Alison and her guide explore miles of river going through the Delta with a fine-tooth comb in search of Gustav each day that goes by is a day lost and the fear that Gustav will claim another victim weighs heavily on the team in the vast expanse of the Delta their quest is as oversized as the animal they seek mr. oh [ __ ] for the Baskins hypothesis now to specially thank you mr. anything some of you the construction of the enclosure that will hold the crocodile after its capture started three weeks ago 20 workers have been mobilized all of them from Gotama a village adjoining the reserve the enclosure is 90 feet long and 45 feet wide having seen the video of Gustav mark believes the space is too small but if they work quickly they may be able to enlarge the enclosure in time mark knows how to care for captive crocodiles but he has never attempted to acclimatize a wild Hanul the size of Gustav an Australian study has shown that more than half of the crocodiles over 15 feet died in less than a week of their capture as a result of stress mark makes sure the basement sufficiently deep for crocodile this size he also reminds Patrice of the need to create a shaded area indispensable to the crocodile for regulating its temperature the water pumped from underground must be similar to that of the rusizi while the men redouble their efforts the search continues for Gustav still stalking the dark waters of the rusizi for six long days the search by canoe 4x4 and on foot s yielded nothing now the hot air balloon is mobilized to help locate Gustav in this difficult terrain the aerial search determines a promising area for closer inspection on foot unbelievable huge company leave it I expected big but this is that I thought it was a I thought it was the big chunk of the sandbank now I realize it's actually that is all crop it up his fat whose plane fare over the next few days Alison tries to get closer to Gustav but he is surprisingly wary a blind will allow her a close-up view for the first time Gustav's deep fear of humans soon makes sense a row of scars bear witness to assault by machine-gun fire his right shoulder blade was also deeply wounded perhaps by the spear of a would-be poacher Gustav seems invincible a formidable descendent of the great reptiles from the age of the dinosaurs generations of crocodiles share Gustav's territory their size varies from five to twelve feet at most the appearance of the monster reveals his enormous size Gustav is easily more than 18 feet long the biggest Nile crocodile ever seen confronted with such a phenomenon an adult crocodile exposes her throat as a sign of submission hippos also fear Gustave and they are on alert guarding a young calf that was born this year normally crocodiles don't threaten hippos not even babies but two months ago a park ranger saw Gustave kill and devour an adult hippopotamus there will be no combat today there are too many hippos they stand in a line to defend the baby and to hold Gustave in check in face of the threat the scientists decide to combine the attempt to capture Gustav with a crocodile safety program aimed at preventing attacks the students of Kitumba are an eager audience well it's awesome who knows but stop don't like his dog I have seen Gustave and he is we haven't caught Gustav yet we still try but we think is at least six meters it's very good a student asks mark if the crocodile uses the power of its legs to leap out of the water to attack its prey no it uses its tail to attack its prey they have a tail you see they have a very big powerful tail and thanks to it they can swim very fast in water and can catch their prey on the banks of the river by using its propulsion which is why you have to be very careful seventy kilometers an hour but to understand it think of it over taxi driving down the road through gar tumba fast flatout that's how fast a crocodile will actually strike when the cage is finally complete when people have got to embark race to carry it in trial the assembled cage weighs a ton it can only be moved by hand it is rumoured they need to carry the cage a distance of four miles to take it from their village to the Delta scouting ahead Allison and Lodi search for the exact place to set the cage markets Ellison I think I found the absolute perfect spot for the strip let's see we're about one kilometer up from the mouth of the lake on the left-hand bank so how long do you think it's going to take you yeah two hours that's fine and what we'll do is we'll wait right here and we'll keep an eye out for you Papa Dania puddi puddi puddi put up a new video on her small while the men work with the cage Alison continues to observe Gustave in order to achieve such enormous size Alison estimates Gustav must be nearly 100 years old but when he opens his mouth she has supplies to see a complete set of teeth a 100 year old crocodile should be nearly toothless amazingly Gustav is probably no older than 60 and likely still growing they're working like 1 2 3 and they bring up the men have been carrying the cage for hours they are exhausted the last hundred yards seems endless your mom he says there's a crocodile very nearby you see it's broken out today yeah Digital faster yeah it's just over there without faith just across the river not is they have known when Gustav retreats across the river reassuring the team that this is a prime location for the placement of the trap this is the risk of this is where it's gonna have to be quick and smooth them and happy I was wrong well it's in and it's great now he just needs really run back because it's being a little noisy but that's good we've got enough time and we just need it even worse it'll down a little bit and I will do the next step what do think honks okay that's good but the cage is not yet ready when night begins to fall the river comes to life it is the time of day hippos prefer to feed and the time crocodiles prefer to hunt the team must still bait the trap mark will pour cow blood on the front of the cage scientists know crocodiles have an exceptional sense of smell that enables them to detect prey as far as four miles away the operation is perilous now Allison places a cow's head inside the cage she does not linger if a crocodile were to rush into the cage now she'd have no chance to escape with the bait in place the trap is finally set now it's up to Gustav to decide what happens next if Gustav falls for the trap Alison will have to sedate him with an injection of flax adil a substance made from kirari a poison that paralyzes without putting the victim to sleep administered correctly the scientists can then handle the animal without danger but determining the correct dose is difficult no one has ever sedated a crocodile this large a camera has been hidden inside the cage it's infrared light invisible to animals secretly illuminates the night a few yards from the door a white spot the eye of a crocodile despite his curiosity he doesn't enter the cage not tonight a week has passed since the cage was put in place despite all the team's efforts the Killer Croc continues to haunt the rizzz one morning Allison is surprised to discover the carcass of a cow on a small island for prey this size the killer could only be Gustav allison waits to see how Gustav and the other crocodiles react to the cow but surprisingly is the hippos straight herbivores but are the first to investigate the carcass soon the entire family leaves the water they gently lick the hide their gestures are slow and almost respectful affectionate as if the cow were one of their own they then all lie down in circling the carcass as if in a solemn wake this strange behavior has been likened to by scientists to a funeral right until now no camera has ever been able to capture it two hours later the hippos abandoned the dead cow and returned to the water their vigil is over no crocodile comes to devour the cow proven to Alison the Crocs are not desperate for food in fact a crocodile can go several months without eating and a croc the size of Gustav can afford to select his prey carefully there we go you quit get out your unit you got to be able to be fight from zero in Kitumba everyone knows why Gustav will not enter the cage to get a baby why would I think that will the village medicine man says that the crocodile is under the spell of an evil person and then you open everyone hang up my temper would regard that the spell must be broken my teeth or the child though it's not quite scientific Matarese believes it's worth a try let's go crystianna colonel think that if we started we have to go all the way hey then we'll see what but well you know finally you never know in the end it's difficult to say maybe they're things that say no that we don't know now it's three ngah toma terrible news weights batteries the villages are in shock despite the cage and the witchdoctor a crocodile has claimed another victim let's get eating one but were there any witnesses did they see it yes that were fishing and they saw the big crappie yes yes no so it's still him he whiskey stop Hey and when you found the body was it home yes he was horrible yeah boy was he drowned him yep he didn't need him with only three weeks left for the scientists Gustave remains at large despite all efforts to catch him he continues to kill the team's plan isn't working and time is running out I am sure the best way to capture Gustave is a cage he's at best sure because but she's not not one Crocker I went to that cage no one got even a little one you know we've got to there must be some way to get hold of this chap to catch this animal and here's an exceptional creature let's face it right so I think we need to go back to the drawing boards and actually try come up with a something new some sort of new technology of some sort that that we can use to catch Gustave with you for several days now the crocodile has been seen on a high inaccessible bank almost a mile from the cage Alison suggests installing another trap perhaps better suited to this kind of terrain the scientists want to increase their chances of capture without abandoning the cage they decide to have three Pitman traps giant snares built in a factory in Bujumbura they will be the largest Pittman's in the world standing 16 feet tall and weighing nearly half a ton the bait will be linked to the trigger the trap is under tremendous tension when released it will ensnare the crocodile in a fraction of a second okay it takes the scientists and their men two days to set up the three Pittman traps on strategic banks it is exhausting work nothing escapes the watchful eye of Gustav we've never come up for the three traps are baited but their proximity to the water makes the operation dangerous mark knows there are crocodiles everywhere they have to be careful that's much okay we go I just said on Pittman the scientists have only two more weeks then they will have to leave Burundi they now have a cage and three Pittman a total of four traps which should quadruple their chances of capturing the crocodile so what 48 hours later Patrice and Mark noticed that one of the Pittman traps has been sprung the Pitman has lived up to its reputation but this is only a tiny version of the killer they seek inexperienced crocodiles are often betrayed by their gluttonous appetites sometimes the same young croc will be caught two or three times in the same day before releasing him mark will gather data including weight and sex that you commit and there you don't find any obstacles yeah normally you'd find the penis which is there and relatively hard but there there's nothing it's a female limit sight oh happy the battery sir imagine imagine how did you stuff we know that Pitman works but we'll need some more people home yeah how much this one-way blessing two hundred pounds or maybe a hundred hundred twenty pounds but can you imagine if it would Cousteau even if the pitman traps seem to be working the team doesn't give up on the cage since Gustave doesn't seem to be interested in simple slabs of meat the scientists decide to install live bait for the first time they're hoping that the chicken will move make noise and attract Gustave lights go by without any results the team has only one week left they make the decision to offer Gustave even more interesting prey they reluctantly place a live goat in the cage the crocodile is weary he keeps his distance and disappears once again night after night it's the same hope and the same disappointment the infrared images viewed several times by the scientists are now making them uncertain there's something going on I don't know what but there's something Gustav is smarter than we think yeah he could surprise us maybe there's some kind of communication between crocodiles but I'm not sure I'd go that far but he's more clever than we think stayed with us a lie because he's throwing it this morning and brings disaster I can't believe what's actually happened laughter all-out effort yeah that's just it's totally totally just the one end is just fallen into the water he's here did the rising waters help the monster to escape his hunters did the trap fail just as gustave entered the cage whatever the circumstances the rain destroyed the infrared camera and the goat has disappeared the scientists will never know precisely what happened that night Ellen welcome in time has run out the scientists must leave the country in three days the army can no longer ensure their safety they don't have the time to fix the cage and bait it again for them the adventure is over didn't get the fluff it's a catastrophe because I really believed in it and I wasn't the only one everyone believed in this cage than the nature against man and once again Nature has proven to be stronger since the team abandoned their quest there have been no reported sightings of Gustav was he injured has he been killed by poachers or shot by the army six months after his disappearance there have been no crocodile attacks on humans but the fate of The Killer Croc remains unknown you

Channel: JASTUDIO360

Views: 3,311,893

Rating: 4.4052258 out of 5

Keywords: Burundi (Country)

Id: 57wyRdd1gj0

Length: 55min 28sec (3328 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 05 2014