This man saved a crocodile from dying. Years later, the unexpected happened. Some of the most dangerous animals on Earth are found in the water. Most have powerful jaws and attack lightning fast, which is why fishermen normally stay far out of their way.
Ambo was like most fishermen; he led a quiet life. But all that changed one day after a close encounter with a vicious animal at sea. Ambo was from Calimatin, and he spent half of his life in the water. He had an old wooden fishing boat that he took out to sea early each morning, catching fish to take to the market by the docks. Ambo had been working to support his newborn son, Booty.
Every boatload of fish helped Ambo to pay for Booty to go to elementary school. He didn’t want Booty to have to become a fisherman like he did when he was young. Ambo worked alone. He had to prepare the bait and the fishing lines and get his boat out to sea each morning, which was no easy task.
He lived next to the river and kept his small boat close by, so each day he had to navigate through a narrow river for 10 minutes until it flowed into a calm part of the sea. On one quiet morning, when he reached the sea, it felt peaceful. The sun was still hiding behind the horizon as Ambo paddled to one of his favorite spots. He was there before any of the other fishermen, which was the way he liked it. But if he had known what was waiting for him in the water that day, he might never have gotten into his boat in the first place.
Ambo had grown up on the Benton Islands, which he had watched transform into a small city over his life. When he was still a boy, he and his father would sit in their boat for hours without seeing another soul. Now he could see big boats in the distance, shipping coal and materials to the island. It meant more money for the local economy but more pollution in the river.
A lot had changed, but he tried not to let it bother him. Ambo still felt connected to his hometown through the fish and animals in the sea. Even on his days off, he would go swimming near the reef and look for new fish. He found that the most surprising animals came to you when you weren’t even looking. Ambo stopped his boat and got his lines set up.
He was ready to put his feet up and watch the sunrise, but he didn’t have much time to relax. There was something in the water about to change his life. One of his fishing lines jolted suddenly to the left. Ambo peered over the side of the boat and thought that it must have been a big fish. But he saw the shadow of something pass under the boat—too pointy and large for a fish.
As the shadow tugged on the fishing line, it soon pulled the fishing rod flying into the water behind it. Ambo was too slow to react and couldn’t grab it in time. His boat was rocking from side to side, and he tried to steady it. Just then, a massive green body came lunging out of the water. In between the splashes of water, Ambo saw that it had jagged, pointy teeth, and even its skin looked sharp.
He realized that it was a crocodile. He had seen crocodiles before in shallower water but never this far out from the swamp. Ambo also noticed that it wasn’t a fully grown crocodile, maybe about three feet or one meter long. And as it twisted and turned in the water, he could see that a big plastic bag was caught in its mouth. As the animal tried to snap its jaw open, it looked like it was choking. Without thinking about it, Ambo jumped on top of the dangerous crocodile and started pulling its mouth open with his hands.
The two went above and below the water as the small fisherman wrestled with the predator. But years of pulling his boat out to the river had made Ambo strong. After just a few seconds, he was able to pull the plastic out from the crocodile’s mouth, saving the animal from certain death. Then he pushed the crocodile away with his feet to give himself just enough time to swim back to the boat.
The crocodile turned to face Ambo, and they both froze for a moment. The animal quickly swam off into the distance. Ambo climbed back into his boat, wrung out his wet clothes, and couldn’t believe what had just happened. His adrenaline was pumping, and he took some time to calm down. But the day wasn’t over, and it was about to get even more bizarre.
A little later, when Ambo was heading back to the river, he heard some splashing behind his boat. He looked back, and to his surprise, there was the crocodile again. Ambo didn’t know if he was in danger or not, so he sped up. But the crocodile quickly caught up to him and swam beside the boat. Slowly, she nudged the boat softly, and Ambo realized that she might be trying to play with him. So Ambo threw her one of the fish that he caught earlier.
The crocodile snapped it up and swam next to the boat all the way until Ambo arrived near his house. His wife happened to be near the riverbed and yelled out to him, “Watch out!” saying in a panic, “There’s a crocodile right there!” But Ambo assured her that it was okay. She didn’t believe him until he parked the boat, and the crocodile gently swam up to her.
New friend Ambo handed her another fish. This time, they were almost touching. After a little more swimming around in the river, the crocodile left. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the story wasn’t over quite yet. After a few years of silence, Ambo’s wife had some great news. He had taken his son on a fishing trip out of town when his wife called him. She told him that something amazing had happened. That crocodile from years ago had returned, and she seemed to be looking for Ambo. Since he wasn’t there, his wife fed the croc, as did their neighbors who they had told about the story all those years ago.
Then the following day, Ambo returned home to find the crocodile there again. They greeted each other in a shallow part of the river, and the crocodile let Ambo come up close. The croc wasn’t as small as he had remembered. She had grown into a full-sized crocodile, spanning 23 feet or seven meters from head to toe. But something that never changed was the level of affection for Ambo. The animal remembered him saving her life that day all those years ago.
Ever since her return, Ambo had named the croc Riska. She swims up to the house looking for him and something to eat, of course. But when she doesn’t appear, Ambo does the most unexpected thing.
He takes out his boat and goes looking for her in the river, just like any pet owner would do if their pet dog or cat went missing. He roams the river until he finds her. When he does, he feeds her—sometimes fish or even three chickens. Once she’s satisfied, she swims away. This also makes Ambo happy, and he will never forget
