Hunters risk lives to feed bush meat boom
CROCODILE hunters are risking their lives to catch bigger prey to meet lucrative demand for bush meat in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a country of around 80 million people where 70 per cent of the population live on less than $2 a day, bush meat provides an income for thousands of families – and an uncooked Nile crocodile can sell for $240, almost double what a junior policeman would earn in a month.
Until a few years ago the murky waters of the Congo River were full of dwarf crocodiles, a relatively gentle species about 5ft long from snout to tail. But over-hunting has caused numbers to dwindle and the species is now endangered so hunters are forced to seek a much more dangerous prey.
The Nile crocodile is 20ft long and frequently attacks humans. While the dwarf crocodile basks on the riverbanks and can be easily caught on land, its ferocious cousin stays in the water.
Hunting is easiest at night, so after dark, hunters like Michael Matamongosi, from the village of Matelwa in Equateur province, and his brothers slip out into the river in a wooden canoe.
“Then you start to shout. They come towards the noise. It is easy to trick them. The difficult part comes afterwards,” he says.
Once the hunters spot movement in the muddy river, they ripple the water with a stick and shine a light into the crocodile’s eyes when it attacks.
As the crocodile is momentarily blinded, the hunters fire arrows attached to a rope at their prey and bring the animal towards the canoe until it is
‘If you shout, they come towards the noise. It is easy to trick them. The difficult part comes afterwards’
close enough to strike on the head with an axe.
Keeping the meat fresh on the fiveday journey into the city of Mbandaka is a challenge.
“Sometimes we grill the crocodile with charcoal before the journey,” says Mr Matamongosi. “At other times we drag its body in the water behind the boat.”
The risks are greater in his profession, Mr Matamongosi acknowledges, but so are the rewards.