Dear Editor I thought that readers might find these photos interesting for The African Fisherman / Hunter magazine . We saw this croc ( it was approximately 5 ½ - 6ft in length ) at Elephant ’ s point at Kariba , in mid-December , after we had gone into a bay to watch the sunset and enjoy a sun downer . We noticed that a large part of its upper jaw was missing and it appeared as if the injury was very fresh . It tried to swim off but quickly returned to the bank as it was unable to submerge . A few minutes later another larger croc ( we guessed about 12ft in length ) appeared and was definitely ‘ stalking ’ the injured croc , slowly inching closer . We waited and watched the scene unfolding for about 1 ½ hours thinking we were about to witness a sight of a lifetime but unfortunately we were forced to leave before any ‘ action ’ as it was getting dark . We speculated that it may have been injured by another croc ( perhaps the one that was stalking it ) and it would be interesting to know if anyone has any other ideas on how this injury could have occurred . I am sure that this animal would not have survived . I would love to have your comments on this . Many thanks Nettie Rogers
Thank you for some very interesting pictures . Over the years , I have seen crocs on occasion with nasty injuries , which in my opinion could likely have been inflicted by other crocs . The most common injury I have observed is missing sections of tails , though have never seen a croc in the state of the one you witnessed . Many years ago I saw a wildlife documentary sent me by a reader in New Zealand showing the migrations in East Africa and huge crocs taking zebra and wildebeest as they crossed the Mara river . While feeding on the carcasses , some crocs would be wounded by other crocs in the mad frenzy ( by mistake as they jostled for their share of the spoils ), and one of these which I would have guessed at over 16 ' had its whole throat ripped open . It continued trying to feed , even though this huge fl ap of meat was hanging from its neck . This may be a possible explanation for the injury to the croc you saw ? It would certainly be interesting to see what comment it draws from our readers . - Editor
Pictured are Ross Sinclair with a typical tigerfish taken at Sundowner Zambezi Lodge at Deka and a tiger caught on dry fl y by father Trevor .
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