MedicalConspiracies- A Crocodile with his Friend (OT)

DANGEROUS FRIENDSHIP- 

Rather than trying to tame wild stallions, fearless  Costa Rican fisherman Chito prefers a playful wrestle in the water  with his best pal Pocho - a deadly 17  ft crocodile.   

 

                     


The  52-year-old
Daredevil draws gasps of  amazement from onlookers by wading chest-deep  into

The water, then whistling for  his 980lb buddy - and giving him an affectionate  hug.  

Chito made friends
With the croc  after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of  the
Central American state's Parismina river 20 years  ago.

He had been shot in
The left eye by a cattle farmer  and was close to death.

But Chito enlisted thehelp of  several pals to load the massive  reptile  into his  boat.

He says: "When I
Found Pocho in the river he was  dying, so I brought him into my house

"He was  very
Skinny, weighing only around 150 lb. I gave him chicken  and fish and medicine for six months to help him  recover.

"I stayed by
Pocho's side while he was ill,  sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted
Him to feel that  somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.

"It meant  a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all  animals - especially ones that have suffered."

It took  years before Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him enough to  get closer to the animal.





He says: "After a decade I started  to work with him. At first it was slow, slow I played with him a  bit, slowly doing more.

"Then I found out
That when I  called his name he would come over to me."

At one point  during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his  house.. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Pocho got  out of the water and began to follow him home.

Chito  recalls:
"That convinced me the crocodile could be tame." But  when he first
Fearlessly waded into the water with the giant  reptile his family was so
Horrified they couldn't bear to  watch. So instead, he took to splashing
Around with Pocho when  they were asleep..

Four years ago Chito showed some of his  tricks to friends, including getting the animal to close his eyes  on command, and they convinced him to go public with a show.  

 

 

Now he swims and plays with Pocho as well as  feeding him at the lake near his home in the lowland tropical town  of Sarapiqui .  

 

 

The odd couple have now become a
Major  tourist attraction, with several tour operators, including  Crocodile

Adventures, taking visitors on touring cruises to see  the pair.

 

 

On the Crocodile
Adventures website it  describes the spectacle as: "One of the most

Amazing things  that no cruise ship passenger will want to miss, the adventure  show between the man and the crocodile."