Fact Check: Crocodile in viral image is not Gustave
A picture of a giant crocodile is viral on Facebook. Users claim it is a Gustave Alligator that has killed more than 300 humans near Lake Tanganyika, Africa.
By Shimron Diana Published on 26 Jun 2021 7:56 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A picture of a giant crocodile is viral on Facebook. Users claim it is a Gustave Alligator that has killed more than 300 humans near Lake Tanganyika, Africa.
For archive click here.
Fact Check:
The Claim is false. Crocodile in the image is not Gustave. It is the image of a crocodile which ate cows and was killed for the same reason.
According to Earth story, "The Crocodile pictured is one-shot by Steve Curle as a 'problem animal' which had been attacking and killing fully grown cows. Steve works with local Zimbabwe communities and the national parks assisting with problem animal control (PAC)".
Fact Check organization `Snopes' said: " The crocodile pictured above is one shot by Steve Curle as a problem animal which had been attacking and killing fully grown cows. Steve works with local Zimbabwe communities and National Parks assisting with problem animal control (PAC). Many of the crocodiles he shot are known man-eaters. While Steve does not hunt professionally, he has a long hunting background. He believes that man-eaters behave differently from other crocs. This beast of a crocodile was shot in the extreme north of Zimbabwe on the border with Mozambique and unfortunately, circumstances did not allow for measurement. However, several guesstimates put it over 16 feet. Our own estimate (based on a 25mm cigarette filter lying slightly in the foreground) does suggest it measures closer to 15 feet. A return trip is planned to the little dam where this croc was shot, and a measurement will be taken from the wall upon which the croc is laying."
Secondly the India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) also debunked the claim
India Today clearly mentioned that this picture is not of Gustave, but another crocodile killed by a Zimbabwean hunter for feeding on cows. The crocodile looks bigger in the picture due to optical illusion. Gustave, on the other hand, has survived several attempts to capture it.
As posted in an article by an International Fact Check website Snopes, the viral picture was shot by Steve Curle. It is known to us through this article that this crocodile was killing fully grown cows and became a huge threat for the locals. Finally, it was shot along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border. Though circumstances did not allow for a measurement, the Snopes article cited some publications that estimated the crocodile to be 15-16 feet long.
Conclusion: Hence the claim is False. The image attached with the claim is not of Gustave but of a crocodile that has been killing fully grown cows and became a huge threat to the locals.
Hence it was killed and the picture was shot by Steve Curle. It was captured at an angle where the crocodile seemed larger.
