There is one famous scary crocodile, which in its time ate a huge number of animals and people. The fact that it is rather difficult to catch suggests that this animal has a fairly high intelligence.
This is the famous, but terrible crocodile-cannibal Gustav, which will be discussed in this article. But first, we will provide some general information about this reptile.
About Nile Crocodile
Nile crocodile - the embodiment of Sebek (ancient Egyptian god). He is one of the largest species of crocodiles of our time.
In general, the largest of all crocodiles is considered combed, as it most often, compared to others, exceeds a length of 6 meters. But the Nile, in turn, can reach such large sizes. But, unlike the comb, his skull is relatively massive, and his jaws are wider. Nile is the most dangerous (along with combed) species of crocodiles for humans, on the account of which there are a huge number of victims.
Other species of large crocodiles
There are scientists' assumptions that in the area where the crocodile Gustav lives, one can also find larger crocodiles in size. But today the most accurate is information only about Gustav.
Below are briefly presented the previously existing large crocodiles.
1. Cassius Clay, living in Australia, is the oldest crocodile recognized as the largest crocodile living in salt water. According to the estimates of the Australians, this crocodile turned one hundred years old in 2013. The name of this reptile is given in honor of the famous boxer Muhammad Ali (the real name is Cassius Clay). The length of this crocodile is 5.48 meters and the weight is 1 ton. He was listed on the Guinness Book of Records in 2011 as the largest crocodile.
2. Philippine ridge Lolong can live in both fresh water and salt. They are often found at river mouths, where they hunt. In these places in 2011, in the area of the town of Buanavan (Philippines), a larger crocodile was caught than Gustav. This is Lolong.
He lived until 2013 in a specially built water eco-park for him. Presumptive causes of his death: a nylon cord swallowed by a crocodile or cold weather that is not peculiar to these climatic conditions. There is no official reason for the death of the animal today. The length of Lolong reached 6.4 meters, and its mass was more than one ton.
The largest crocodile of the planet in history
The largest crocodile on the planet was Sarkozuh, who lived in the Cretaceous period. Its length reached 12 meters, and the weight was close to 8 tons.
This conclusion was made by scientists from the most ancient remains found in the middle of the twentieth century in the Sahara desert by a French paleontologist by the name of Albert-Felix de Lapparent. He discovered several shields of armor and teeth, and later the remains of the skeleton were found.
Crocodile Gustav: photo, description
The most famous of the cannibal crocodiles was Nile, nicknamed Gustav. He was always hunted, but, despite this, he could not be caught for a long time. This reptile could be identified not only by size, but also by several scars from bullet wounds.
Crocodile Gustav - male Nile crocodile. He appeared for the first time in the region of Burundi (Africa). According to known information, he was shot dead in 1987 at the request of local residents, as he terrified them. According to rumors, in his entire life he destroyed more than 300 people and became the hero of numerous legends.
This crocodile can claim the title of the most highly developed in its squad. Nile crocodiles live in communities where hierarchy reigns. Although the behavior of crocodiles is not as pronounced as that of mammals, but among the class of reptiles, it speaks of their high intelligence.
Its huge jaws are not as strong as those of alligators. In total, the crocodile-cannibal Gustav (photo below) in his mouth had 64-68 powerful teeth.
In any case, the incredible power of the prehistoric animal delights. It is capable of defeating an animal one on one, equal in weight or more to it. And the Nile crocodile will attack most of all its brethren on large animals. One case is known when Gustav killed even an adult huge hippo.
In addition to incredible strength, the Nile crocodile, like many others, has amazing vitality. It’s hard to kill, even if you pierce the body through and through.
About the habits of a crocodile
Naturalists say that the size of the animal does not allow him to hunt for zebras, antelopes and fish due to the great agility of the latter. This means that the crocodile feeds on buffalo and hippos, but sometimes it attacks people.
Locals claim that by killing people, he leaves their corpses uneaten. Gustav is still a phenomenon that has repeatedly come into the view of scientific experts and residents of these places.
Crocodile Search History
The giant crocodile Gustav got his name from Patrice Faye, who lived in Burundi and hunted for this terrible beast since 1998. He managed, together with his team, to build a special cage, in which, according to his plan, the crocodile was supposed to fall. The attempt failed, and the beast escaped again.
Gustav was again discovered in 2008, but it was during this period that the Guinness Book of Records commission confirmed the existence of an individual crocodile reaching a length of 7 meters, but already in the region of India (east of the country). It turns out that the status that the crocodile Gustav has as the largest on the entire planet has not been officially confirmed to date.
