allAfrica.com: Kenya: How I Fought Off Crocodiles With Bare Hands (Page 1 of 2)

A 30-minute fight with a crocodile left him with deep wounds in the thigh and arm. At the end of the duel, the battleground, a river bank, resembled an enclosed venue of a fight between two bulls. Hillary Amuma had overcome the reptile which retreated into the Tana delta as he walked out of the place slightly wounded but a hero.

Amuma, 26, wriggled out of the seemingly hungry predator's jaws by employing the Pokomo traditional method. No spear, panga or other weapon is required; just courage, precision, quick action and alertness.

According to Amuma, a crocodile attack is a normal occurrence in Tana River district, especially among the Pokomo who are always prepared to save themselves using traditional skills. "I think this is the reason why it is said that Pokomos can use crocodiles to cross the river," he joked.

On the fateful day recently, Amuma went home at noon and found that his wife had cooked ugali but had no other food to accompany it. "I was hungry and had no penny in my pocket, and the ugali prepared by my wife could not be eaten alone," he recalls.

He grabbed his fishing gear and rushed to the river, about a kilometre away, hoping to catch enough fish for lunch. "I threw my hook into the river and caught a fish, went ahead and caught a second one, and then a third," he says.

"But when I attempted to get the fourth, something grabbed my left leg and pulled me into the river. I did not realise what was happening immediately."

It suddenly occurred to him that his life was in danger and he struggled to find out what it was that was tugging at his leg. He realised that a huge reptile had bitten his left thigh, and hitting it with his bare fist was like hitting a concrete wall. This is when it dawned on him that he was in grave danger.

The short and lean man with a perpetually frowning face that may be mistaken for a smile, had to think fast to save himself from the reptile's sharp teeth. "I turned to face the animal that had opened its mouth wide ready to make mince meat of me," he recalls.

"I threw a quick glance at the river banks and nobody was in sight, and I realised I was about to die. I had to wait for either a miracle to happen or let the crocodile make lunch of me.

"The animal looked extremely hungry that fateful afternoon, probably after spending the whole morning looking for a human being or other animal."

In a flash, Amuma remembered survival tactics he had learnt from his grandfathers. First, he threw away his fishing gear to prepare himself for either death or life. The beast was holding his thigh and pulling him deep into the water as his left hand bled profusely from deep wounds sustained earlier.

"The crocodile bit me and pulled me deep into the water, and were it not for my quick action, I would have died."

Using his right hand fingers, he poked the crocodile's eye and jumped back in an instance. His heart pumping hard and not sure if he would succeed, he summoned enough courage to face the danger. But when he tried to run away, the reptile jumped over him again and it came into direct contact with his fingers aimed at both eyes.

He touched both eyes at the same time, immediately immobilising his attacker which retreated, more or less subdued. "This is how I escaped," Amuma recalls. "According to the Pokomo, a crocodile fears being touched in the eye as this immoblises it."

He says, however, that although the age-old method of fighting off a crocodile has been passed from one generation to another, many local people cannot accomplish it due to fear. "Summoning courage to aim fingers at the eyes of a crocodile is not easy, especially when the animal has bitten you and is pulling you into the water," he adds.

A step backwards

Though bleeding profusely, he took a step backwards and watched the reptile swim back into the river, no doubt disappointed and cursing itself for being so easily outwitted.

Amuma now believes that the best way to fight off a crocodile is to face it and aim at both eyes with one's fingers. But he is quick to point out that it is a great challenge, arguing that the worst mistake one would make is to take time to think when attacked. Shouts for help won't deter the beast either, he adds.

He thanks his grandfather for teaching him the survival tactics in an area infested by crocodiles, or he would have died. "Real Pokomos do not fear crocodiles, but this does not mean that they do not get wounded or killed by the reptiles; the truth is that they are very good at fighting them off," he says.

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