Facing the crocodile that 'ate my wife'

[frigidmagi]

BBC

Four months ago, Demeteriya Nabire was killed by a crocodile when she went to the lake near her home to fetch water. The animal later came back to the area but found Nabire's husband waiting, ready to take revenge.

Demeteriya Nabire was at the water's edge with a group of women from her village - they were gathering water from Uganda's Lake Kyoga when the crocodile grabbed her. It dragged her away and she was never seen again.

Her husband, Mubarak Batambuze, was devastated - Nabire was pregnant when she died, and he had lost not only his wife but an unborn child as well. He felt powerless. But then last month he heard the crocodile had returned.

"Somebody called me and said, 'Mubarak, I have news for you - the crocodile that took your wife is here - we are looking at it now.'"

The 50-year-old fisherman made his way to the lake with some friends. "He was a very big monster, and we tried fighting him with stones and sticks. But there was nothing we could do," he says.

So Batambuze went to visit the local blacksmith.

"I explained to him that I was fighting a beast that had snatched and killed my wife and unborn baby. I really wanted my revenge, and asked the blacksmith to make me a spear that could kill the crocodile dead.

"The Blacksmith asked me for £3.20 ($5) and made the spear for me," he says. It was a significant amount of money for Batambuze, but he was determined to kill the animal that had snatched his future.

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Mubarak Batambuze spoke to the BBC World Service programme Outlook
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"The crocodile ate my wife entirely. Nothing was ever seen of her again - no clothes, no part of her body that I could identify. I just didn't know what to do - a mother and her unborn child. It was the end of my world. I was completely lost."

Armed with his new spear - specially designed with a barb on one side - the widower went on the attack.

When he got to the water the crocodile was still there, but Batambuze's friends took fright.

"Please don't attack this beast," they pleaded, "it's so huge it may eat you. The spear is not enough - it won't finish the job."

But Batambuze insisted they stay. "I failed killing it the first time around," he told them, "I'm not bothered if I die killing this beast. I'm going to take it on with this spear, and I will make sure that it dies."

A Ugandan Wildlife Authority ranger, Oswald Tumanya, says the crocodile was more than four metres long and weighed about 600kg

"I had so much fear in me but what helped me to succeed was the spear," says Batambuze.

He tied a rope to the end of the weapon so that once the tip was embedded in the crocodile, he could pull it out at an angle and the barb would cut into more of the animal's flesh.

"I put the spear into the crocodile's side, and while my friends were helping to throw stones at the beast's back, it tried getting its mouth up to attack me again.

"It turned violent, and then there was so much fear in the place. But I was so determined, and I wasn't afraid of dying. I just wanted it dead, so I put the spear in its side and I pulled the rope. That got the crocodile into trouble."

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I'm a very depressed man because I lost a wife and an unborn child”

Mubarak Batambuze
It took an hour and a half for Batambuze and his friends, fighting and retreating, exchanging attacks with the enraged animal, before the crocodile was finally dead.

Exhausted, they made their way back to their village. "There was so much shock. What really surprised everybody was how big the beast was. It wasn't an ordinary crocodile. It was so big. And people called me and my friends heroes," he says.

The dead animal was taken to Makarere University in Kampala, where it was examined by a vet, Wilfred Emneku.

He says a tibia bone was found inside the crocodile's stomach, but while he believes it's human he can't be sure.

A crocodile expert at Charles Darwin University in Australia, Adam Britton, says he would be very surprised if any remains inside the animal's stomach were those of Demeteriya Nabire.

"After 12 weeks... under normal conditions, it would be highly improbable for bones from the same meal to remain in the stomach," he says.

So while Batambuze's celebrity status endures in his village, it is unlikely that he will ever have a grave to mourn at.

"Within myself I'm a very depressed man because I lost a wife and an unborn child," he explains.

"But the locals keep on saying, 'Thank you for killing the beast, that's where we fetch water and we're sure it would have taken somebody else. Thank you so much, you did a great job.'"

"So I'm a local hero - people keep on thanking me."

Damn hardcore man. I hope he finds peace.

[Lys]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how legends are born. Hell, it's already is a mythic tale! Consider, a great beast comes upon a man's pregnant wife and drags her into the depths to devour her. It wanders off, but the man vows revenge. When he hears that it comes back, he rallies his friends to attack the great beast, but their weapons prove useless. Undeterred, he quests and makes great personal sacrifice to achieve a legendary weapon capable of slaying it. Thus armed, he gathers his allies once more and goes to face the great beast, but the creature's might is so great that they cower in fear, and bid him abandon his quest. The man is steadfast, for his heart is set on revenge, and he goes forth to cast his spear into the beast. Inspired by his courage, his allies rally around him, and together they struggle mighty with the creature until it is finally slain. Exhausted, the man returns home and is hailed as a hero.

[LadyTevar]

That is an epic quest retold, Lys.

I am sorry that he will never had a body to mourn, as I believe they have deeply religious rituals that should be held whenever there is a death in the family. Even having a single bone would have helped. The story also doesn't say if there were other children, or if the unborn child was their first.

[Cynical Cat]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how legends are born. Hell, it's already is a mythic tale! Consider, a great beast comes upon a man's pregnant wife and drags her into the depths to devour her. It wanders off, but the man vows revenge. When he hears that it comes back, he rallies his friends to attack the great beast, but their weapons prove useless. Undeterred, he quests and makes great personal sacrifice to achieve a legendary weapon capable of slaying it. Thus armed, he gathers his allies once more and goes to face the great beast, but the creature's might is so great that they cower in fear, and bid him abandon his quest. The man is steadfast, for his heart is set on revenge, and he goes forth to cast his spear into the beast. Inspired by his courage, his allies rally around him, and together they struggle mighty with the creature until it is finally slain. Exhausted, the man returns home and is hailed as a hero.

My first thoughts upon reading with this was "so this is what a dragon slaying story sounds like before its travelled through half a dozen retellings and five hundred miles."

[Lys]

Yes, that is exactly it. Though more like several dozen retellings. The surprising part is how little the particulars change, all you have to do is exaggerate the might of the beast, the prowess of the hero, and the wondrousness of the weapon, and you have a dragon-slaying tale. Everything else, including the hero's motivation, steadfastness, and courage remain pretty much the same.

[Comrade Tortoise]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how legends are born. Hell, it's already is a mythic tale! Consider, a great beast comes upon a man's pregnant wife and drags her into the depths to devour her. It wanders off, but the man vows revenge. When he hears that it comes back, he rallies his friends to attack the great beast, but their weapons prove useless. Undeterred, he quests and makes great personal sacrifice to achieve a legendary weapon capable of slaying it. Thus armed, he gathers his allies once more and goes to face the great beast, but the creature's might is so great that they cower in fear, and bid him abandon his quest. The man is steadfast, for his heart is set on revenge, and he goes forth to cast his spear into the beast. Inspired by his courage, his allies rally around him, and together they struggle mighty with the creature until it is finally slain. Exhausted, the man returns home and is hailed as a hero.

My first thoughts upon reading with this was "so this is what a dragon slaying story sounds like before its travelled through half a dozen retellings and five hundred miles."

Pretty much. Take St George. A dragon who lives in a fetid pool in Libya that eats livestock and children? I wonder what that could be...

Though really, my reaction is the same as when someone gets killed by a shark and there is this massive hunt for "the shark that did it". It helps nothing. They will almost never get the shark (or crocodile) that did it, they kill an animal that has no moral guilt whatsoever (predators gotta predate, yo), it does not help the grieving family at all (especially when no body is ever found because there is not much left after a shark or crocodile stomach gets through with the body).

The worst part is, this only ever happened because in Uganda, women and their children are the ones who have to travel to the nearest lake or river for drinking water. Drinking water that is filled with pathogenic microbes and leaves EVERYONE open to everything from cholera, giardia, cryptosporidium, and amoebic dysenteria to the death sentence of Naegleria fowleri. One might as well get revenge by flogging the water supply.

[Lys]

I'm pretty sure that a giant crocodile prowling a stretch of lake where people draw water is an active danger to the local populace. One that can actually be dealt with with their available resources, unlike the myriad pathogens in the water. I'd also disagree that it doesn't help the grieving family at all. Revenge feels good, it's satisfying to get back at those who hurt you, and while it won't undo the damage, it can ease the pain.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I'm pretty sure that a giant crocodile prowling a stretch of lake where people draw water is an active danger to the local populace. One that can actually be dealt with with their available resources, unlike the myriad pathogens in the water. I'd also disagree that it doesn't help the grieving family at all. Revenge feels good, it's satisfying to get back at those who hurt you, and while it won't undo the damage, it can ease the pain.

Crocodiles are a fact of life (by which I mean, it is not just one crocodile prowling that lake edge, but a population of large crocodiles that the locals know about and deal with every day), and death by crocodile is one of the least (though most dramatic) of the dangers faced by the local population. So unless you are going to argue that large crocodile eradication is some kind of reasonable goal (it isn't, because without those crocodiles whole ecosystems will collapse, including those important for local farmers and the like), the danger posed by large crocodiles is not justification to kill one. But the crocodile has a face, and is thus more readily confronted than say, Malaria.

As for revenge: No. It really does not. Funny thing with revenge. When controlled experiments are done, people who were able to take revenge felt worse than controls who did not have an opportunity for revenge. Yet, people unable to take revenge think they would feel better with revenge, and people able to take revenge think they would have felt worse sans revenge. It is a cognitive trick evolution played on us (that bitch does not play fair). We are motivated to take revenge--even though the act of revenge is harmful in its direct costs and our own later well-being--because if we dont we cannot get rid of or discourage those who cheat or harm us, and our social groups dissolve. None of which is relevant for a crocodile.

Think about it. Epic as the story itself is (and I wont dispute that. This sort of shit is how legends are born), this dude put his own life at risk and put up a significant sum of money (relative to his resources) in order to take revenge on what was likely a completely different crocodile . Even if it was the same crocodile, it cannot comprehend why it is being attacked. Unlike a person who murdered the wife, there is no emotional satisfaction in forcing the crocodile to feel sorry for what it did.

And he is going to feel worse for having done it, more than likely.

[Lys]

I was under the impression that crocodiles of the size of that one are rare, which is the main reason why it's thought that the same one that killed the man's wife. Even the article notes that the villagers were amazed by the size of the beast, that it's no ordinary crocodile. Its size is what makes it particularly dangerous, and why culling it if it makes a habit of being near where people gather water could save lives. I don't know if crocodiles can get a taste for human flesh like lions and tigers have been known to, but the principle behind taking out a man eater is the same: it's a threat above that presented by others of its kind.

As for revenge, I am not generally inclined to argue with controlled experimentation, but my observations are that it is quite rewarding. Lashing out on impulse is certainly something that people often regret, but calculated revenge is different and can be downright euphoric. I have to wonder if the study conflated the two, as I do not understand how there can be room for regret when intention and outcome are in alignment. Indeed, such times are when one feels the most satisfaction. Whether the target understands what it did wrong is irrelevant, revenge is an inherently selfish act, the whole point is to make yourself feel good by inflicting suffering on another, that's why it's called revenge and not justice. You cannot perform justice on a crocodile, it's an animal acting according to its nature, but it does feel pain, which means you can avenge yourself upon it.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I was under the impression that crocodiles of the size of that one are rare, which is the main reason why it's thought that the same one that killed the man's wife. Even the article notes that the villagers were amazed by the size of the beast, that it's no ordinary crocodile.

No. Seeing a crocodile's head and seeing one up close are two different things. 4 meter crocodiles are not at all uncommon, and a 7 meter long nile was captured just last year and relocated. 4-5 meters is average adult size for a nile crocodile. Though they keep growing throughout their life so that is more of a median or mode than a mean. Gustave (yes he has a name) is a 7.5 meter crocodile who lives near Lake Tanganyika, and he has killed 300 people because he is too large to take prey that is more....wary.

I don't know if crocodiles can get a taste for human flesh like lions and tigers have been known to

They dont. Crocodile prey selection is based on size and location. They are going to go after something making a commotion at the water's edge, as long as they think they can take it without risk of injury. About 4 meters is where a crocodile gets big enough that they will go after human sized prey on the edge without being under particular starvation pressure, 3 meters or so if we are swimming.

This only applies to crocs that view us as a potential food source. American Crocs dont until they get REALLY big for their species (they mostly eat fish and small mammals, and lack the robust jaw bones required for large mammal prey). American Alligators DO after about the 3 meter mark. And you can safety swim around with 7-8 meter long indian Gharials. No that is not sarcasm, you actually can.

[Lys]

Huh, that's interesting, okay I'll grant then it might not have been the same crocodile. Seems they're not particularly distinctive size-wise until they surpass 6 metres. Perhaps people around croc infested waterways would benefit from an Archemedes screw to carry water from the lake or river to a trough, where it can be safely gathered without danger from large carnivorous reptilians.

One look at a gharial's picture makes it pretty evident why it's safe to swim with even the largest ones: their snouts are too thin to eat large prey, as they're specialized fish eaters. On the other hand, they share a habitat with both the mugger crocodile and the saltwater corcodile, which makes swimming with gharials ill advised lest you fail to notice one of the other kind among their number. Those will in fact eat you if they catch you in the water.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Huh, that's interesting, okay I'll grant then it might not have been the same crocodile. Seems they're not particularly distinctive size-wise until they surpass 6 metres. Perhaps people around croc infested waterways would benefit from an Archemedes screw to carry water from the lake or river to a trough, where it can be safely gathered without danger from large carnivorous reptilians.

Hell yeah they would. They could benefit from a lot of things, honestly. Commercial fishing on the african lakes is not doing them any good either for a variety of reasons (lack of fish makes the crocs hungrier, plus fucks over the subsistence fisherman directly) as well. But it is Uganda so...

Those will in fact eat you if they catch you in the water.

Attacks by Muggars are rarer (even accounting for their low population). They get a bad rap because they eat human carrion that gets sent pre-cooked into the river as part of certain hindu river burial rituals. But they will still happily eat people.

Still, there are places on earth where swimming with gharials is a thing. like the Ft Worth Zoo (the Ft Worth zoo is the only good thing about Ft. Worth). The keepers do so when they clean the huge glass enclosure. They dont have to shift the gharials to get in there with a brush. They most certainly DO have to shift the 5 meter long saltwater croc in the next enclosure over....

And the Komodo Dragon likes to be pet.