A man saved a crocodile from death – after which the 4-meter giant began to come to his house and demand hugs

This story is about an incredible friendship spanning 22 years. About the friendship between a man named Chito and a huge scary crocodile Pocho. Everything was accomplished thanks to the special skills of a naturalist guide from Costa Rica, his painstaking work and perseverance in taming such a wayward and ferocious creature as a crocodile. From the words of the savior himself, he learned to hear and understand the jungle and animals, thanks to the fact that he was born in Sikirres and had been fishing since childhood.

Gilberto Shedden, which is Chito’s real name, picked up the injured reptile near the river in 1989. The baby was shot in the head, and there was practically no chance that he would recover. The man decided to take the crocodile home. He began to nurse the unfortunate man and achieved excellent results. Six months later, the crocodile had almost completely recovered, but for this Chito had to sleep next to him, chew food for him and take care of him as if he were his own pet.

Happy healing and continuation of the long road to recovery

While recovering, the crocodile grew, gained weight and gradually became an adult and healthy male, the same predator that people talk about meeting with excitement and trepidation. Now the man could not keep him at home. Although, when asked about the influence of his new friend on family life, he jokingly answered that he loved his wife, but Pocho was more important to him.

Ultimately, his wife left him, unable to bear being around the crocodile. Without any regrets, Gilberto said on one of the TV shows that he would find another wife, “and Pocho is one in a million.”

When the time came, and they tried to separate the friends, Chito hid the unusual pet in the jungle, away from prying eyes. He carried food for the reptile every day, but noticed that this was not enough for the crocodile. He needed care, love and attention, so the man continued to talk to the crocodile for hours, pet him, and tried to spend more time next to the beast. And this is not the only story about friendship between a man and a crocodile. For example, there is a whole village of naturalists in the state of Burkina Faso – Bazoule, whose inhabitants have tamed a whole pond of crocodiles.

One fine day, a difficult decision was made – to release the reptile into the river. The bandage was removed from Pocho, the friends went to the pond together, the picture looked like this – a fisherman was walking, and a giant reptile was crawling at his feet. When the crocodile was in its natural environment, Chito sailed home on a boat. When he went ashore, he discovered that his friend had followed him. In the morning he found Pocho on the veranda of his house. The crocodile came there and went to bed. From then on, every evening he came to spend the night at the man’s house.

Joint leisure

Despite attempts to bring Pocho home, everyone had to come to terms with the unusual neighborhood. As a result, complete idyll and mutual understanding reigned in this friendship. The man and the crocodile spent a lot of time together. The love, care and help of professionals helped the animal to fully recover. Over time, the Minister of the Environment helped to settle some bureaucratic issues; veterinarians told the man how to care for the giant. Subsequently, but not immediately, Chito allowed his daughter near the pet, fearing for the well-being of both. But, in the end, her care came in very handy for the crocodile.

The man often came to Pocho’s river to swim together. This 440-kilogram giant behaved in the water like a small child, splashing and fooling around. I also had to casually entertain the audience of random witnesses. People could not believe their ears when the huge crocodile turned to his name and ran as fast as he could towards Gilberto, who had called him.

New opportunities for self-realization and exciting work on the show

The friends had their own entertainment program, when in front of the amazed audience, like real circus performers, they showed deadly tricks. The 4-meter Pocho could roll over onto his back and stomach on command and dance to the rhythm of clapping his hands. Chito put his head in his mouth. Sometimes the crocodile snapped its jaws threateningly, pretending to attack a person. Viewers of the evening show had their blood running cold from such jokes. However, despite his size and “crocodile origin,” Pocho never harmed his friend. Without performances, Pocho was bored and languishing. You can see everything for yourself in the following video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJETfBqeAj0

The giant died in 2011. The whole village came to the funeral to support their lost friend, a man. Pocho was embalmed and left as a solitary exhibit in a museum opened by Gilberto Shedden in honor of the crocodile scientist. It is known that Chito began training another young crocodile, but he was unable to repeat the story with Pocho.