Many of us must have heard at least one story about human and animal friendship here and there. But have you ever heard someone being friends with a predator? Well here is one for you.
A Costa Rica man, Gilberto Shedden made history because of his unique friendship with a crocodile.
In 1980, one day Gilberto, or Chito as his friends call him saw a crocodile in the river while coming back from fishing. The beast was nearly dying and wounded because a bullet was stuck in his eye.
Chito decided to take the animal home and sell his valuable skin after the beast died. His unexpected discovery made him happy and he took the crocodile home. With the help of some villagers, he transferred him to his barn.
But to Chito’s surprise, the huge reptile clung to his life. Chito made many visits to the barn but found the crocodile still weak but alive. After a few days, he took pity on him and gave him a chicken.
From that day Chito fed the wounded animal every day and became very attached to him. The animal started becoming better and better day by day because of Chito’s care. He named the crocodile Pocho, which means “handsome, strong guy.”
Soon he had to shift Pocho to different hidden places, as keeping a dangerous animal in your house is prohibited by law. Their bond grew stronger and stronger.
No one understood this strange friendship between these two. Even his wife left him, not sharing his love for the beast. Pocho was fully recovered and healthy, after almost three years . It hurt Chito but he freed the animal into the river.
But to his surprise, Pocho was laying on his veranda the next day as if nothing happened. From that day they both were inseparable for the next 20 years.
In 2011, at the age of 55, Pocho died of old age. After Pocho, this was a hard time for Chito after losing his best friend. Chito cherishes his time with his amazing friend.
