[xoxoxoBruce]

Who need Steve Irwin when we have Chito... shown here with 980 lb Pocho.



They're friends, you see.

'This is a very dangerous routine but Pocho is my friend and we have a good relationship,' says 52-year-old Chito.
'He will look me in the eye and he does not attack me.
'It is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the water. It is only ever the two of us.'

Shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer after preying on a herd of cows, Chito enlisted the help of several friends to load the massive reptile into his boat. Naming him 'Pocho' (meaning strength), the fisherman says he healed the reptile with medicine, food, and, more importantly, lots of care and attention.

During the recovery process, Chito stayed by Pocho's side, even sleeping with him at night.
'I just wanted him to feel that someone loved him, that not all humans are bad,' Chito says. 'I love all animals, especially ones that have suffered. It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day.'

After Chito felt that Pocho had bonded with him, he started to get closer.
'After 10 years I started to work with him,' he says. 'At first it was slow, slow and I started to play with him a little, touching him a little bit and then slowly doing more. Then I found that when I called his name he would come over to me.'

I still wouldn't trust him.

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