Comments on: The crocodile whisperer

The crocodile whisperer

unSane — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:23:16 -0800

Rather than trying to tame wild stallions, fearless Costa Rican fisherman Chito preferred a playful wrestle in the water with his best pal Pocho - a deadly 17ft crocodile. For several years, the 52-year-old daredevil drew gasps of amazement from onlookers by wading chest-deep into the water, then whistling for his 980lb buddy - and giving him an affectionate hug. Crazy Chito said: "Poncho is my best friend. This is a very dangerous routine but we have a good relationship. He will look me in the eye and not attack me. It is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the water. It is only ever the two of us. Sadly Pocho died last October, at the age of 50. But his fame lives on.

By: zarq

zarq — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:26:02 -0800

"Died of natural causes." Considering what happened to Steve Irwin, He was very lucky.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:27:08 -0800

> Considering what happened to Steve Irwin, He was very lucky. To be clear, the crocodile died here.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:27:43 -0800

Pura vida, Pocho.

By: mule98J

mule98J — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:27:55 -0800

Awww....

By: pracowity

pracowity — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:34:31 -0800

Pocho or Poncho? You type Pocho twice, Poncho once.

By: cacofonie

cacofonie — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:35:42 -0800

I'm very sad for Pocho... but i am curious: Would being eaten by a crocodile be classified as dying by "a natural cause."?

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:37:23 -0800

In those clips, the croc seems awfully sluggish. Kind of...tranquilized? That said, crocodiles are social animals, so I suppose it might be a natural bond.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:42:45 -0800

I can imagine all the other crocs, "There goes Pocho, playing with his food again..."

By: me & my monkey

me & my monkey — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:42:55 -0800

Finally, a redeeming YouTube comment: "this is still a better love story than twilight" In all seriousness, I suspect he waited until after the croc has caught something. My layman's understanding is that they get pretty sluggish after eating.

By: MuffinMan

MuffinMan — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:44:54 -0800

I like the comment in the last link: jerry spencer Saturday October 22 2011 chito and pocho were 'brothers from another mother' Well, I suppose if you.... wait. No, they really weren't, you oversentimental fruitcake.

By: WinnipegDragon

WinnipegDragon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:45:32 -0800

Well the snopes link says he lived with the Po(n)cho for more than a decade before starting to train and play with him. Isolated from any other animal contact I'd think bonding would be a reasonably expected outcome?

By: zarq

zarq — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:46:11 -0800

Burhanistan: " To be clear, the crocodile died here." Heh. Lack of reading comprehension ftw. :D Thanks.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:08:31 -0800

Pretty clear at 1:45 in the video that it's a duck in a crocodile costume. IE, not dangerous at all.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:09:36 -0800

Heh. Lack of reading comprehension ftw. :D Thanks. I read it the way you did at first too.

By: onhazier

onhazier — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:10:20 -0800

A 950 lb duck in a crocodile costume is NOT dangerous at all? (I'm allowing for 30 lbs of costume here.)

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:14:06 -0800

WinnipegDragon: "Well the snopes link says he lived with the Po(n)cho for more than a decade before starting to train and play with him. Isolated from any other animal contact I'd think bonding would be a reasonably expected outcome?" Not necessarily true for reptilians. There was a bodybuilder who kept a giant python in a glass cage. He described entering the enclosure while the creature was hungry, and preparing to molt (bad vision), and being attacked. He only lived (in his estimation) because he was near the door, and able to squeeze the door against the python hard enough to get it to release. But he'd owned that animal for well over a decade. But then, pythons aren't social animals. Biiiiig difference.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:15:59 -0800

Now I'm wondering if a stingray could take out a croc like it did Irwin.

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:15:59 -0800

Burhanistan: "> Considering what happened to Steve Irwin, He was very lucky. To be clear, the crocodile died here." The human was still lucky. That's a long run of luck. But then, he was smarter about it (over a decade before he started "playing" with it) than the "polar bears are my friends!" idiot.

By: crapmatic

crapmatic — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:33:10 -0800

"Died a natural death at age 50?" The life expectancy for Costa Rican males is 76. Otherwise, that's quite a story, and I wish his family the best.

By: Malor

Malor — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:38:23 -0800

I'm sure Mrs. Crocodile and Crocodile Junior will be happy to have your wishes, crapmatic.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:39:31 -0800

"Died a natural death at age 50?" The life expectancy for Costa Rican males is 76. They can still have strokes and heart attacks and stuff before then. Reptiles definitely do seem to have personalities. They're not "larger than life" personalities like you have often with dogs and sometimes with cats, but they're still personalities.

By: WinnipegDragon

WinnipegDragon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:40:29 -0800

But then, pythons aren't social animals. Biiiiig difference. Oh I know that. I went through a snake-owning phase, and it only took on stupid, inattentive feeding mistake to get snagged by my 6' Carpet Python. After many years of event-free feeding she still decided my hand was food. The best part was when she tried to constrict my arm. 6' sounds big but they are skinny snakes and there was no way she was a threat to me, and couldn't have even handled two or three fingers let alone my wrist. It was kind of ridiculous.

By: unSane

unSane — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:40:45 -0800

IT WAS THE CROCODILE THAT DIED, PEOPLE. THE CROCODILE.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:43:43 -0800

Oh, and again, it's the crocodile that died, not the person; his species lives to about 55 on average, so 50 isn't all that young.

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:45:07 -0800

Pocho was the only love of his life, but now that he's gone, Crazy Chito is left with a lot of baggage... and a pair of boots.

By: ChuraChura

ChuraChura — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:51:59 -0800

I hate nearly everything about this story. Man and crocodile should not live as friends! Reading this gives me squidgy toes in the same way that watching video of people up high does. *shudder*

By: Naberius

Naberius — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:52:16 -0800

Wait, who died?

By: anazgnos

anazgnos — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:52:59 -0800

It's pretty sad that the guy got eaten by the crocodile, but really what was he expecting!

By: Naberius

Naberius — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:57:08 -0800

From all the nice things he said about the crocodile, it seems to me that really would have wanted to go that way.

By: scruss

scruss — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:58:31 -0800

Now you're just trolling; trolling for crocodiles ...

By: unSane

unSane — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:25:03 -0800

I bet when Pocho died, Chito shed... [puts on sunglasses] ... crocodile tears. YEEEEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

By: evidenceofabsence

evidenceofabsence — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:33:20 -0800

Chito and Pocho's relationship is going to be referenced in a future movie called Row, which stars Ryan Gosling as a boat mechanic and stuntman who has a sideline as a getaway skipper for bank heists. After one of the heists goes terribly wrong, Gosling's character, demonstrating his usual reptilian cool, simply puts on his windbreaker (which is embroidered with a crocodile), and takes off, rowing his outrigger canoe upstream. Later, confronted by a mobster, Gosling's character says, "Do you know the story about the crocodile and the fisherman? Your friend Chito and I frolicked in the river, to the delight of a crowd."

By: zarq

zarq — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 12:47:43 -0800

unSane: "IT WAS THE CROCODILE THAT DIED, PEOPLE. THE CROCODILE." Heh. Sorry for inadvertently derailing your thread. Although you must admit, these stories usually don't go this way!

By: Panjandrum

Panjandrum — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:02:04 -0800

> Chito and Pocho's relationship is going to be referenced in a future movie called Row I keep searching IMDB but, no matter how much I want it to, it won't appear.

By: dephlogisticated

dephlogisticated — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:34:05 -0800

Air Pocho - A basketball-playing crocodile saves the day by scoring the winning baskets in a high-stakes game, thereby raising enough money to keep the community center from being shut down.

By: MuffinMan

MuffinMan — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:57:19 -0800

Chito and Pocho's relationship is going to be referenced in a future movie called Row, which stars Ryan Gosling as a boat mechanic ...and Jonny Hallyday as the aging, somewhat louche, leather clad crocodile.

By: Wordwoman

Wordwoman — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:23:29 -0800

By: telstar

telstar — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:33:34 -0800

This is one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. The story of how patient and caring Chito was for the injured Poncho is inspiring. .