Man saves a crocodile from death and stays best friends with him for more than 20 years

Shedden, a naturalist, tour guide, and fisherman from Siquirres in Costa Rica’s Limón Province, found Pocho dying on the banks of the Reventazón River in 1989. He examined it more closely and saw that the crocodile had been shot in the left eye (as it turns out, by a local cattle farmer, enraged by the animal preying on his herd of cows).

Shedden rode his boat home with the crocodile. He made the choice to recover his health.

Shedden gave the crocodile 30 kg (66 lb) of fish and chicken a week for six months while also sharing his bed with it. He also gave the crocodile kisses and hugs, talked to it, and petted it while simulating the chewing of food with his mouth. Later, Shedden expressed his opinion that the crocodile required his love in order to regain its will to live and that simply providing it food would not have been enough to help in its recovery.

He gave the creature the name Pocho. Shedden had to secure the required wildlife permissions from Costa Rican authorities in order to be able to legally own and raise Pocho. Until then, he kept the crocodile hidden in a secret pond deep within a local forest, covered by a dense overhead canopy of trees.

Shedden decided to release Pocho back into the wild after his health had restored and placed him in a nearby river. However, the man discovered the crocodile had followed him home and was sleeping on his balcony when he awakened the following morning.

hedden made the decision to let Pocho stay. From that point on, together with Shedden’s daughter and second wife, the crocodile lived in the lake next to his house and was regarded as a member of the family. (His first wife had left him because he was spending too much time with the crocodile.)

For more than two decades, Shedden swam with the crocodile in the river outside his home, mostly at night, talking and playing with Pocho while holding, kissing, and petting him. Even better, he taught the reptile to react when its name is called.

Shedden and Pocho entertained visitors from all over the world once a week at Finca Las Tilapias in his hometown of Siquirres, Costa Rica, using a 100 m2 (1,100 sq ft) artificial lake. The couple were photographed by South African director Roger Horrocks for the video documentary “The Man Who Swims With Crocodiles” just before Pocho passed away. He speculated that Pocho’s gunshot wound to the head may have affected the crocodile’s brain, affecting its normally instinctive behavior.

The director believed that Shedden’s life was in risk each time he entered the water with the crocodile because there have been cases where people have been attacked by their reptilian pets even after a decade or more of close ownership. Shedden acknowledged that “after two or three years, something could happen, maybe… but after 23 years of loving each other, nothing has ever happened, therefore I don’t think so.”

No, they were simply too near to one another for that to happen. Take this as an example: Pocho had a habit to rush Shedden when he entered the water with his mouth open. Before coming too close, the crocodile closed his mouth and allowed a kiss on his snout instead. A wonderful relationship.

On October 12, 2011, Pocho passed away in the water in front of Shedden’s house in Siquirres due to natural causes. The crocodile’s public funeral was attended by friends and fans. Shedden held the crocodile’s “hand” and sung to it. Pocho’s taxidermied remains are on permanent display behind glass in the Siquirres town museum.

Shedden is now working with Pocho II, a brand-new crocodile. The man frequently came into contact with the crocodile on the river near his home while fishing. He fed the reptile and was allowed to pet it. However, given that the situation is different from Shedden’s relationship with the original Pocho, the chances of long-term success are quite slim.

Pocho was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime gift, but he was unquestionably well-deserving. Goodbye, old pal.