TAME CROCODILE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 382, 16 June 1928, Page 10

TAME CROCODILE

"JUNGLE BOOK” STORY

FED BY NATIVES AND TOURISTS Uganda possesses a remarkable crocodile. Those acquainted wit!| Kisumu, the Lake Victoria port in Kenya, are aware of "Horace.” the kindly hippo, who is an institution in the town, is cherished by the small community, and is protected from all ignorant sportsmen. He comes out of the Lake in the evening or through the night, wallows in fne best flower gardens in Kisumu and gently rubs his hide against the walls of the Post Oflice or the station restaurant. If he becomes too familiar, he is gently but firmly hustled back into the waters of the Kavirondo Gulf. But nonoby expects such domesticity from a Mugger, writes the Nairobi correspondent of “The Cape Times.” Nevertheless, on the lake shore between Kampala and Entebbe, in Uganda, there may be seen every week-end the strange picture of an lift, crocodile feeding placidly from the hands of human beings, while an admiring crowd of natives, Indians and Europeans approach nervously near him as he gorges, lifting his tail, poking his corrugated hide and performing other intimacies never known in the life of the average crocodile. This is no fairy story. I have seen photographs of those incidents and authenticated reports. Business Proposition The reptile inhabits the waters of the lake near a small fishing village called Njango, and he has been christened “Lutembe” by the natives. Near the lakeside there lives a native who appears to possess a strange power or an uncanny knowledge more probable in the pages of the "Jungle Books” than in matter of fact Uganda. With a peculiar cry he is able to summon the crocodile from the lake. He has turned his powers to profit, both for himself and for his neighbours. The crocodile, which is perfectly tame, has a passion for the lake fish called the “ngege,” and scores of this fish are sold by the native and his friends to visitors every week-end at a price of sixpence each to feed the reptile. Of course, the Indian comes in on the deal also. One or two Asians with a highly-developed business sense, have organised a week-end motor-bus service to the spot, and both fishermen and car owners do well out of the eccentricties of the crocodile. The African native’s imagination and fondness for folklore and fable are well known. It is not surprising, therefore, to discover that the Keeper of the Crocodile has a story to tell. This is what he says: Some time ago his fishing nets were being damaged anil his fish stolen by thieving crocodiles. One day he found his present reptilian friend basking in the sunshine on the shore he remonstrated with the crocodile. With tears of regret the crocodile promised to place the matter before his friends and so sharp was his authority that one day he appeared on the surface with a young relative dead betw-een his jaws. The fisherman and the crocodile swore an everlasting compact, and from that day to this the native declares that his nets have been unmolested! That is probably the fiction. The fact is that a crocodile living a natural life in Lake Victoria has developed a habit of coming ashore and accepting food at the hands of man without attempting to bite or attack anyone.