Garrett Wales of Brock, Texas, recently shot an absolute monster. According to his Instagram page, Wales recently went on a hunting trip on the Turwi River in the Savé Valley of Zimbabwe. Wales made his crocodile hunt
“Until we brought him in, this creature was little more than a myth amongst the villagers. [It was] rumored to live in a grass-filled irrigation pond [near] the village,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “[The irrigation pond being] a frequent spot to water goats and cattle while traveling between villages…it was only a matter of time. After 5 days of hunting, we got to him first.”
Wales shot the crocodile at 7 yards from land with a .33 Nosler rifle. The Nile crocodile is one of five species of crocodiles in Africa. They live throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Basin, and in Madagascar. According to National Geographic, they can grow up to 20 feet and 1,650 pounds. Some 200 people are estimated to die from fatal crocodile attacks in Africa each year. Most crocodile hunting takes place in central and southern Africa, where hunting fees play an important role in wildlife conservation.
Wales did not share any weights or measurements on his crocodile—but it’s a jaw-dropping specimen regardless. “[It’s] a proper, man-eating dinosaur of a croc,” he wrote on Facebook. “It was an experience I’ll never forget.”