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In search of the Nyo-Koko – the devil - Mauritz Coetzee
This was especially true of the old Rhodesia and Mozambique and to a lesser extent countries like Uganda and Kenya.
In 1954, a rather unknown book, in a retrospective sense, was published on crocodile hunting. Titled Crocodile fever – a true story of adventure, the author Laurence Earl tells about the crocodile hunting career of one Bryan Herbert Dempster. Dempster grew up in Natal and killed his first crocodile at the age of eight whilst on a hunting trip with his father.
Using a high-wheel built Model A Ford they travelled overland from the farm in Natal to the Zambezi River. Amongst all the pots and pans, supplies and ammunition they took a Mauser 9,3x62 rifle as well as a .375 H&H Magnum, .303 Lee Enfield rifle, two shotguns and a .22 rifle on this hunting trip.
It was during this hunting expedition that the inhabitants told Dempster and his father of the Nyo-Koko, the devils of the water, and how the crocodiles were regularly killing the local people at rivers and waterholes.
After the killing of his first crocodile Dempster decided that he was going to make a living through the hunting and selling of crocodile skins. This implied the actual shooting of crocodiles. This was in sharp contrast to the baited method also used to kill crocodiles. With this method a five-inch hook with bait was fastened with a wire cable to an empty, floating ten gallon tin can. After taking the bait and swallowing the meat, the crocodile usually died of exhaustion by fighting the floating tin can.
Dempster hunted crocodiles for many years around the Zambezi River and especially the lower river area between the mountain separating Cabora Bassa Gorge from the sea. At the end of his career he used the old Portuguese town of Tete as headquarters and was also able to supply, at times, up to 90 crocodile skins per month to eager buyers.
The years Dempster spent in the bush came at a high price. His marriage fell apart, he nearly died of typhoid and malaria and one of his most trusted assistants, Albaan, died from a hippo attack whilst out on a crocodile hunting trip. Yet Dempster kept on hunting, using some old local crocodile hunters who have been with him for many years. By this time he used only one rifle, namely a BRNO 8x60 with which he delivered deadly accurate shots to kill crocodiles on the spot.
After the banning of certain fishing methods and hunting in specific areas in the then Rhodesia, Dempster was forced to continue his crocodile hunting in Mozambique.
For the privilege of hunting in Mozambique, Dempster had to pay 25 pounds for a month's hunting licence. Despite many obstacles such as recurring malaria, he was quite successful with his crocodile hunting.
Eventually Dempster became the victim of the Portuguese police chief in Tete who was actually trying to get Dempster out of Mozambique and to procure the rights to crocodile hunting for himself. Dempster finally had to flee from Mozambique with the help of his friend from Rhodesia, Harry Race, although he managed to take a lorry full of crocodile skins with him.
Since the late 1950's many things have changed in Africa. In countries like Uganda and Ethiopia the crocodile populations have nearly been wiped out. Yet crocodile populations in Zimbabwe and Mozambique have remained stable in spite of hunting and civil wars.
During the past five years, Mozambique has again become a prime hunting destination for foreign hunters. In 2006 close friend and professional hunter Ronnie Rowland has again managed to harvest two exceptionally large crocodiles in Mozambique. The area of Cabora Bassa where the confluence of the Muzungezi and Mucumbura rivers occurs has in fact produced some exceptional trophies. However, the issue regarding the total length of large crocodiles has been a hotly disputed point.
In Eyelids of morning – the mingled destinies of crocodiles and men (1990), Alistair Graham refers to an estuarine crocodile shot by a Frenchman, Paul de La Gironiere. This crocodile was shot in the Philippines in 1825 after it killed one of the Frenchman's horses and devoured it. This crocodile was 21 feet long.
The biggest Nile crocodile is said to have been 19 feet and 6 inches long. This crocodile was shot by an unknown hunter in Uganda in 1952.
The skin was also sold to the Marketing Company in Uganda. I am convinced that larger/longer crocodiles have indeed been killed in Africa, although many authors believe that prolonged periods of isolation in the wilderness and over-indulgence in gin and brandy have resulted in the stretching of tapes by many of the old-time hunters in Africa. During the last two years many crocodiles between 15 and 16 feet have been killed by hunters in Mozambique, so the possibility of a 17 or 18 feet crocodile still remains.
It has been suggested that crocodile victims fall into three broad categories: Firstly, the resigned who consider the risk of being attacked by crocodiles as unavoidable. This includes local populations such as the people in Mozambique who have to wash themselves and their clothes in rivers. Secondly, the unaware who sometimes suffer real accidents of chance. I have also lost a friend this way just over a year ago when a large crocodile took him while he was standing between his two brothers. The third category includes men lured by some compelling aspects of a situation into exposing themselves to attack. This category obviously includes people like Dempster and present-day hunters who are actively hunting crocodiles.
The following experience from Dempster explains it all: "One night Dempster decided to go after a group of small-sized crocodiles which had somehow managed to drag his hippo bait into deeper water. He was still nearly 10 yards from his quarry when the water shelved down, first to his knees, then to his thighs. Dempster knew that wisdom dictated that he should retreat to land. He thought of taking shots at the crocodiles, which were around his hippo bait. Aiming, he managed to kill the crocodile nearest to him. He managed to take hold of a front leg of the crocodile he just shot and then stood perfectly still in waist-deep water. With the rifle in one hand and the other hand holding the crocodile he was now unable to take any more shots at the crocodiles. Suddenly he felt a scraping bump against his calves, rasping his skin and nearly knocking him off-balance. By now he realised that he had two or three crocodiles near his body. He remained still for several endless minutes and then began to move sideways very slowly towards the sandbank. It was a cool night, yet sweat poured out of his body. Finally he was safe in ankle-deep water. He then began to shiver and shake and realised that he was now pushing his luck."
In spite of the above accounts the crocodile will always remain a favourite game animal, an animal that is also surrounded by superstition, folklore and even worship as in the case of the ancient Egyptians.
And perhaps Nyo-Koko is not really the devil or the pre-programmed man-eater it is made out to be. As Dempster rather soberly remarked in his interview with Laurence Earl, they cannot be blamed for eating humans. To the crocodile man is just another animal. If somebody falls into a river or goes for a swim, it is just too bad. The river is indeed his territory (Crocodile fever – p.19& 20).
