TARGET 151014

CHITO and POCHO
THE MAGICAL POWER OF CARING

Known as the 'Crocodile Man', Costa Rican animal lover 'Chito' swims, plays and even feeds "Pocho", a giant crocodile, in what is one of the world's most unlikely friendships.

The bizarre friendship began nearly 20 years ago when Chito rescued the crocodile after finding him close to death on the shore of the Parismina River, in the Caribbean province of Limsn.

Pocho had been preying on a herd of cows and had been shot in the left eye by the cattle farmer. Pocho had tried to get back to the river, but only made it to the river bank and was lying there in the process of dying. Chito, a local fisherman, found the huge crocodile and decided to save it. He enlisted the help of several friends to load the massive reptile into his boat, took it home and began nursing it back to health. Naming him 'Pocho' (meaning strength), the fisherman says he healed the reptile with medicine, food, and, more importantly, lots of care and attention.

"When I found him in the river, he was dying so I put him in my boat and I brought him into my house," recalls Chito. "He was very skinny, weighing only around 150 pounds (68 kg), so I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover."

During the recovery process, Chito stayed by Pocho's side, even sleeping with him at night.

"I just wanted him to feel that someone loved him, that not all humans are bad," Chito says. "I love all animals, especially ones that have suffered. It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day."


^{Playing in the water}

After Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him, he started to get closer and closer to the animal.

"After 10 years I started to work with him," he says. "At first it was slow, slow and I started to play with him a little, touching him a little bit and then slowly doing more. Then I found that when I called his name he would come over to me."


^{Playing in the water}

Pocho grew to 17 feet (5.2 meters) in length and 980 pounds (444.5 kg) in weight under Chito's care.

Calling quietly for his five metre long 'companion' the crocodile (which now lived in the lake) came to him and the two began thrashing around, Pocho lifting his tail and head above the water.


^{A moment of quiet friendship}

Wading chest-deep through the green water in a small manmade lake in Siquirres, Chito and Pocho cavort and wrestle and swim together in the water as would two human friends. Tourists have come from around the world to see the unusual spectacle of a man and a crocodile who are friends.

Chito has never forogtten that Pocho was, and always remained, a truly wild animal.

"This is a very dangerous routine but Pocho is my friend and we have a good relationship," says 52-year-old Chito. "He will look me in the eye and he does not attack me, but it is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the water. It is only ever the two of us.'



But after two decades of performing together, and three decades as Chito's friend, Pocho died on Oct. 11, 2011, of natural causes and old age. Chito said his partner was nearing 60 years old. On Sunday, the day Pocho and Chito normally frolicked in the water for visitors, the village held a grand funeral for the huge reptile. As a parting gesture for Pocho, Chito put him in a wagon and hitched it to a car that drove the duo around the town. Dozens of vehicles joined the motorcade. At least 50 mourners kept pace with the procession, while onlookers sprinted up to the cart to snap photos. By the time the tour ended, back at Finca Las Tilapias, where the funeral was held, some 300 people had shown up for the service.

FEEDBACK MAP



If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:

NPR

ExpandedConsciousness.com (excellent 44 minute documentary video)

Tico Times News: Costa Rica says goodbye to famous croc Pocho

Many thanks to Ray McClure for selecting and doing the programming for this target.