AN ENORMOUS 16ft beast that weighs a staggering 118 stone and fathered thousands of hatchlings is the world’s oldest crocodile.
The burly man-eating croc is said to have six wives who have birthed a phenomenal total of 7,000 babies.
CrocworldThe hefty beast is thought to be the largest living croc in existence[/caption]
Channel 5Brit naturalist Steve Backshall shows off the reptile’s massive length[/caption]
Channel 5Henry has ghastly fangs that he’s thought to have once used to eat human children[/caption]
Channel 5A close up of the elderly crocodile that has a dark man-eating past[/caption]
Local outlets report that Henry was born on December 16, 1900 at Okavango Delta in Botswana.
This puts his age at 123 – among the oldest known living reptiles in the world.
His birthplace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a vast inland delta formed in the landlocked southern African nation.
Henry boasts terrifying fang-like teeth and huge feet as well as dry, scaly skin that’s over a century old.
He’s so humongous that his length almost matches that of a minibus.
One of the oldest crocs in captivity, Henry has a dark past that goes back decades.
It’s believed he ate kids from a Botswana tribe who grew so fed up with his bloodthirsty antics they enlisted the help of an elephant in 1903.
Sir Henry Neumann was a renowned elephant hunter to whom the beast owes his name.
They decided to sentence the reptile to a lifetime of captivity abroad rather than brutally slaughtering him like his victims.
Henry has been staying at the Crocworld Conservation Centre in Scottburgh in neighbouring South Africa for over three decades.
Henry the world’s oldest crocodile
AT an impressive 16ft, this croc is thought to be the length of a minibus and over 120 years in age.
16ft
118 stone
123 years old
Deadly fangs
Born in Botswana
Held captive in South Africa
He’s a Nile crocodile – a breed present in 26 countries, largely located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
They live in different types of aquatic environments like lakes, rivers, swamps and marshlands.
The nasty apex predators are notoriously fierce and unafraid to butcher its meek prey which includes zebra and porcupines.
Hundreds in the region lose their lives to the Nile crocodile every year.
While Henry boasts the title of the oldest living croc to roam the earth, Aussie croc Cassius enjoys being the biggest.
Tucked away on an island off the coast of Australia, the monstrous behemoth once prowled the nation’s waterways – attacking boats and snatching cattle.
The prehistoric beast was officially recognised by Guinness World Record in 2011 as the world’s largest living saltwater croc.
The massive reptile has become the star attraction at the Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat on Green Island, off the coast of Cairns, Queensland.
After he was captured in 1984, he was transported to Green Island in 1987 by crocodile hunter George Craig, who had opened Marineland Melanesia in 1969.
It also comes after a brave Polish immigrant shot to stardom after she blasted a mammoth 28ft crocodile with a single shot to save her daughter’s life.
Krystyna Pawlowski fearlessly took down the feared croc after decades of her town enduring its carnage.
The skilled markswoman shocked the world when she eliminated the beast with a precise bullet while sporting red lipstick and bright nails.
Hunters were reportedly left in awe of the new croc killer with them amazed that a 5ft 4in blonde mum-of-three pulled off such a kill.
Krys, then 30, is said to have been on the banks of the Norman River in Queensland, Australia with her young children when she spotted the terrifying creature.
In a split second decision, Krys grabbed for her rifle and aimed at the giant crocodile which was lurking around her five-year-old daughter Barbara.
A single bullet pierced the seemingly impenetrable reptile’s scales underneath its eye – stopping it dead in its tracks.
The 28ft monster was the biggest ever reptile killed or even just captured in Australia – a record that still remains to this day.
Guinness Book of Records even honoured the impressive kill, transforming Krys into a global celebrity.
Channel 5Henry was named after the hunter that spared him death[/caption]
Channel 5The croc’s tail is dry to the touch and his entire body extends to a massive 16ft[/caption]
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