"Tame" croc...

["Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

The pictures and video are  - well, just follow the link.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2589865/Blokes-best-mate-is-a-crocodile.html 
17 Aug 2009

Rather than trying to tame wild stallions, fearless Costa Rican fisherman 
Chito prefers a playful wrestle in the water with his best pal Pocho - a 
deadly 17ft crocodile.

The 52-year-old daredevil draws gasps of amazement from onlookers by 
wading chest-deep into the water, then whistling for his 980lb buddy - and 
giving him an affectionate hug.
[...]
"It is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the water. It is only ever 
the two of us."

Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on 
the banks of the Central American state's Parismina river 20 years ago.

He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to 
death.

But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile 
into his boat.

He says: "When I found Pocho in the river he was dying, so I brought him 
into my house.
[...]
It took years before Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him enough to 
get closer to the animal.

He says: "After a decade I started to work with him. At first it was slow, 
slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more.
[...]