Crocodile named after Bin Laden terrorises village where it has eaten 80 locals
By Emma Gritt, Online journalist - The Mirror
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An "immortal" bloodthirsty crocodile named after Bin Laden has eaten 80 villagers, terrorising adults and children for years.
Osama, a Nile crocodile believed to be over 75 years old, lived in Uganda's Lake Victoria for most of its life.
The 16ft-long beast wiped out a tenth of the population in the small village of Luganga between 1991 and 2005.
The reptile used to snatch children as they filled buckets of water at the shore of the lake or swim beneath fishing boats and purposefully capsize them, the Daily Star reports.
At one point, it also started to jump into fishermen's wooden vessels before carrying off people to kill them.
One of the victims of the croc's attacks was a local fisherman whose tattered clothing was discovered floating on the water, according to reports.
Another man witnessed and survived an attack by the fearsome reptile, but his brother was not so lucky.
The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to Paul Kyewalyanga, who was rowing in the back of his boat as his brother Peter fished from the front when Osama leapt in and snatched him.
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He recalled: “Osama just emerged from the water vertically and flopped into the boat.
“The back of the boat where I was sitting was submerged.”
He tried to seek help but the crocodile had latched onto Peter’s leg with his giant jaws and began to pull at him, trying to get him into the water.
Paul added: “Peter was clutching the side screaming. They fought for about five minutes until I heard a tearing sound.
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“Peter shouted, ‘He’s broken my leg.’ Then he let go and was dragged into the lake. A few days later we found his head and his arm.”
Villagers started asking for help and in 2005 the croc was captured with the help of 50 local men and wildlife officials.
Some people wanted to kill the reptile, but wildlife officials told villagers they could not kill the beast "with impunity".
So, the reptile as given to the owners of Uganda Crocs to be used in their breeding programme.
They hope that he will sire hundreds or even thousands more giant crocodiles whose skin can be turned into handbags for fashionistas in countries such as Italy and South Korea.
The farm also doubles up as a tourist attraction, and members of the public can pop in to see the 5,000 crocodiles being fattened up ready for slaughter.
