The name Gustave Crocodile came to the world’s attention around 2005. This Gustave is not a major big thing, a crocodile of the Nile crocodile species responsible for the death of 200 to 300 people. Gustave and Faye were first brought to the world around 2005 in an article called ADVENTURE.
They describe here about a terrible crocodile and a local hero of Burundi. The name of that local hero was Patrice Faye. He was a Frenchman who had been researching crocodiles for a long time. Gustave Crocodile is the third largest crocodile ever found in the world and most dangerous crocodile in this world. That has killed 300 people and countless animals. Mr. Fay spent eleven years of his life trying to catch this crocodile but he failed. Then he changed his intentions.
He wanted to put a microchip on Gustave to monitor his movements, but he failed there too. Mr. Fay and Gustave are intimately involved in this history. For his efforts, he became a hero to the local people of Burundi. Today we will discuss the most dangerous, ferocious and giant Gustave crocodile in the world but before that let us know how many years these crocodiles have been in our world. so that we can get a better idea about their life span.
History of Crocodile
The history of crocodiles is as old as the history of human civilization. The actual age of crocodiles from the crocodile fossils that have been found so far has a lot of debate. According to many, the earliest crocodile fossils are found in the Late Cretaceous period, about 95 million years ago. Again, the ancient fossils of crocodiles that are found are about 200 million years old, it is believed to belong to the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic period.
A crocodile fossil from the Archosauriform Xilousuchus is considered the oldest crocodile fossil in the world. The age of the fossil is 250 million years, which is believed to belong to the Early Triassic period. Despite much controversy this species of reptile is considered to be the ancestor of modern crocodilians, most closely related to modern crocodilians, and they roamed the swamps of Asia. Today’s crocodiles are at least 200 million years old, at least as far as we can tell from what zoologists have studied.
The Background Of Gustave Crocodile
The incident dates back to the 1960s, when the Central African country of Burundi was fighting unitedly under the leadership of King Mwambutsa IV for independence from Belgium slavery. That time some people went down to bathe in the Ruzizi river and saw a terrible scene. A huge crocodile came out of the river and ate a large hippopotamus.
They narrated this incident to the king in such a way that if it had been possible, the crocodile would have eaten the elephant in an instant. The king became restless and without a moment’s delay he went out to find out the truth. This time the people of the area gave extremely shocking information. When it rains continuously, such crocodiles often come up from the Nile, whose size is 20 to 25 feet long, and each one weighs from 1,000 to 1200 kg.
Not getting enough food in the river, The crocodiles used to catch the forest deer and try to eat them. But when ordinary people start disappearing, It is both thought provoking and terrifying. Many of them were found mutilated in the river and it was understood that they were all victims of crocodiles. The crocodile ate as much as it could and left the rest in the river. Undeterred, the king appointed a group of men to collect information from those who had seen the crocodile face to face.
Everyone who saw it gave almost the same information. The crocodile has big white spots above the head and a golden line under the belly. The king’s appointees are convinced that it is not many crocodiles but one crocodile that is wreaking havoc. The king’s appointees reported to the king about the crocodile. The king was disappointed how will stop the crocodile.
The apprehension came true from that day for several decades, at least 300 people were reported killed in the river basin during the reign of that crocodile. Almost every day some people started disappearing, in 1987 a group of zoologists came to collect news about this crocodile. They try to find out why a normal crocodile turned into a man-eaten crocodile. These zoologists were accompanied by Mr. Patrice Faye.
After much research, Mr. Patrice Faye and his research team confirmed that the wounds on the bodies of these unusually large clawed crocodiles were actually bullet wounds. To be sure, these are AK-47 rifle bullet wounds and the deep hole above the right leg is from a rocket launcher. But the AK-47 rifle was used by the soldiers, so did those soldiers go into the belly of the crocodile that remained unanswered questions.
Crocodile Naming And Capture Attempts
Who will stop the crocodile who could not be stopped by shooting! Mr. Patrice Faye gave the crocodile a name called Gustave Crocodile. One of the world’s top reptile experts doesn’t come back like other biologists. He became obsessed with catching this crocodile as days, months and years passed by in Burundi. You will be surprised to know that this expert spent 11 years of his life trying to catch this crocodile but he failed.
According to Mr. Faye the Gustave is 65 to 70 years old, weighs 920 to 1000 kilograms and length 20 to 22 feats. Somewhat frustrated, he changes his strategy and no longer wants to kill the Crocodile. But he wants to put a micro-tracker on the animal to follow him. At one point, he tried to catch Gustave Crocodile with a trap used in Zimbabwe to hunt giant crocodiles. But again he failed, the gigantic crocodile could not be fooled.
Despite coming close several times, Gustave Crocodile never fell into the trap. Finally, the trap became so heavy that it could no longer be lifted and was sunk to the bottom of the river. Mr. Faye described his close observation of Gustave Crocodile for the last three months. In these three months, he saw 17 people being his victims before his eyes. However, he believes that there is no other reason behind this crocodile’s human-eating behavior.
Since there is a shortage of food in the river, it comes up to land in order to save its life and his body size is huge that prevents him from moving fast. For the reason that it makes humans its prey, which is relatively easy prey. We can verify much more information if we observe the movements of such animals without killing them. Gustave was last seen hunting a large buffalo and then disappeared. We don’t know the witness to history, where Gustave is, even whether the Gustave Crocodile is alive or not.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Is Gustave the biggest crocodile?
The actual size of Gustave is not known. However, based on the information available, it is suggested that Lolong is the largest crocodile in the world. It is 6.7 meters long and weighs 1075 kilograms.
- What was the giant crocodile?
Sarcosuchus was a giant crocodile which length was 9.5 meters or 32 feet, and weight was 3.45 to 4.3 tons. According to the information available so far, the Sarcosuchus is the largest crocodile in the world.
- Who killed the biggest crocodile?
In July 1957,The largest crocodile of Australia, 8.64 meters long, was killed with a single shot on the banks of the Norman River by a Polish immigrant Krystina Pawlowski.
- Is Gustave crocodile still alive (2024)?
There have been several reports that Gustave Crocodile has been killed but no solid documentation such as pictures or videos have yet been released to support this claim. So it can be assumed that the Gustave is still alive but it may not be.
- Where is Gustave the crocodile now?
The Gustave was first seen in the Ruzizi river of Burundi in 1957. Until 2024 there is no solid evidence to kill or die of the Gustave. So we can say Gustave is now sleeping on the side of the Ruzizi river.
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