Scars along the crocodile’s side looked to have been caused by gun fire, and a wound on his shoulder suggested a previous encounter with armed soldiers. Not only that, but judging by the marks on his body, he seemed almost indestructible. Faye estimated that the creature was 20 feet long-the size of a large great white shark-and weighed somewhere around 2000 pounds, making him 3 feet longer and more than 300 pounds heavier than a typical male Nile crocodile. Then one day, when he managed to get up close, he realized just how exceptional the reptile was. The first few times Faye caught up with the crocodile, his attempts to kill him were unsuccessful.

That same year, he got a license to hunt and kill the culprit. A self-styled reptile expert and hunter, Faye sometimes worked with a group of fishermen who told him an enormous crocodile had attacked one of their colleagues. In 1998, the killer croc caught the attention of Burundi resident and French native Patrice Faye. This particular creature was unusually large, and had a noticeable scar on top of its head. While many Nile crocodiles popped up on the banks, eyewitness reports always pointed to the same culprit. Reports showed that they took place primarily in three villages-Magara, Kanyosha, and Minago-that border Lake Tanganyika. The Quest to Catch the World's Most Dangerous Crocodileįatal attacks began plaguing the area in 1987. There, among untouched landscape and plentiful wildlife, danger lurked beneath the water, with scarred, leathery skin and powerful jaws. The lush, green plains of Rusizi National Park are less than 10 miles from its bustling capital.

He had only gone to wash up when he was snatched from the shore, leaving a pregnant Nitegeka to raise their child alone.Ī tragedy like this should happen once in a lifetime, but for years in Burundi it was a sadly familiar tale.īurundi, one of the smallest countries in Africa, is wedged between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. The screams coming from Lake Tanganyika were Nitegeka Abiya's first sign her husband Mayoya wasn't coming home.

Images of killer croc