It took 50 fishermen assisting the team of three to remove the crocodile from the water.

Peter Ogwang, one of the experts, said they moved in a canoe without an engine, to avoid scaring it and used traps and ropes to net it.

Once they had captured the beast, they tied the jaws of the crocodile with wires and roped it down in a pick-up truck before transporting it to a crocodile farm in Buwama, 45 miles from the capital Kampala.

Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga said:

Much as the residents of Luganga wanted to kill the reptile after our rangers had captured it, it is our responsibility to protect it by removing it from that area and keeping it in a safe place.

We are keen on protecting wild animals because they have a right to live and should not be killed with impunity.

She also said the UWA was mindful of the safety of human beings.

"That is why a team of UWA had to remove them from where they were threatened to where they can be cared for," she said.

UWA's Moses Mapesa, who was in charge of the capture, said they had to move the crocodile quickly to stop local residents from avenging their relatives' deaths.

As Uganda's web site, NewVision.co.ug stated:

Killing such animals in the name of vermin control is counterproductive. It depletes populations of scarce animal species, denies the animals their rights to live and leads to economic loss. In any case when a crocodile kills a human being for a meal, it does not know that it is doing wrong...

When crocodiles eat human beings, it is a symptom of an underlying environmental problem such as over-fishing and depletion of their natural prey.

Upon its arrival at the Buwama farm, the crocodile was said to have roared.

Crocodile on The Farm

The manager of the Uganda Crocs Ltd, Alex Mutamba, said the crocodile would be part of their breeding stock.

He said they needed a breeding stock of about 50 males and 250 females.

A National Geographic resident herpetologist, Dr. Brady Barr said the Nile crocodiles could be driven to extinction if not cared for.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida is just one place that hopes to put a stop to both alligator and crocodile extinction. It has been exactly twenty years since I visited; an adventure I will never forget.

African Safaris

For "rugged elegant" luxury and African Safari adventures in Zambia, consider: