A local community has been terrorised by its resident crocodile, which is believed to have caused the deaths of hundreds of villagers since the 90s.
The croc, which is reported to live along the Ruzizi River in Burundi, Africa, has been given the name Gustave by locals.
But Gustave is estimated to be at least 20-feet long, over 143 stone, and an apex predator.
Despite the animals typically feeding on small prey, like fish, snakes, and even prime apes – scientists think he turned to humans once he became large enough to take them on.
However, it’s likely he also preyed upon native hippos and buffalos during this time too.
Having first been spotted over three decades ago and apparent bullet injuries, the crocodile has been resilient to the brutal world around it, with it estimated to be approximately 60 years old.
Reports say Gustave might be dead, but it hasn’t been proven (YouTube/ MagellanTV)
But the difference between killing for food and killing for sport has been debated when it comes to Gustave.
That’s because he apparently left the bodies of his human victims uneaten.
So, scientists banded together to attempt to catch him in 2004, and after two years of trying and failing – they finally landed their biggest catch. Well, almost.
The project was led by Patrice Faye, which the National Geographic calls a ‘self-taught naturalist who has dedicated his life to tracking the beast.’
Capturing the Killer Croc was the name of the PBS documentary, which saw researchers fashioning a massive cage, around 10 feet bigger than the croc, to capture him.
And they nearly snared him with bait in the trap.
That was…after he had been able to escape the same trick three times in a row.
The difference this time was that they placed a live goat in the bait cave.
Frustratingly, a storm occurred, damaging the camera inside the trap, and when the researchers returned, they saw the trap was damaged and the goat was gone.
“He travels all the way to the areas of Rumonge and Minago and eats fishermen and bathers en route,” Faye told the BBC in 2002. “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.”
But for five years it seemed like Gustave may have gone elsewhere, until his reappearance in the Ruzizi River near Lake Tanganyika in 2009.
Ten years later, unverified claims began circulating that Gustave had been killed, but to this day, no proof has come to light.
According to A-Z Animals, Nile crocodiles like Gustave, are the second-largest reptile in the world after the saltwater crocodile.
They tend to average around 11.5 to 16.4 feet and weigh up to 118 stone – which is small compared to what Gustave reportedly weighs.
But Gustave’s terror might be over, as only one 2019 unverified sighting has occurred in over a decade.
In March 2019, Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson wrote in Travel Africa Magazine: “According to reports I’d read and a television programme I’d seen, Gustave had eaten people — some say 300, others 60, and some only three. I had wanted to meet Patrice Faye, who knew more about Gustave than anyone else. I learnt, though, that, sadly, Gustave has been killed and Patrice Faye is no longer in the country.”
However, nobody knows for sure.
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