“The Man Who Swims with Crocodiles” is a documentary about a man from Costa Rica, Gilberto “Chito” Shedden, who found a starving crocodile on the Reventazón River’s banks. Shedden, who was a naturalist and tour guide, examined the animal and found it had been shot in the left eye.
He took it home with him, determined to nurse the animal back to health. He gave it medicine, chicken and fish. To encourage it to eat, he mimed chewing food. Shedden also let the crocodile sleep with him, for he believed that the crocodile needed love as well as physical care in order to recover. He kept the crocodile in a hidden pond on his property until he was able to get the necessary permits from the Costa Rican government that would enable him to keep the crocodile legally. It took three years of care on Shedden’s part before the crocodile was fully recovered.
After the crocodile, now called Pocho, had regained its health, Shedden did attempt to release him back into the wild. It didn’t work. Pocho simply followed Shedden home like the world’s biggest and scaliest dog and camped out on Shedden’s porch until the latter saw him.
Shedden noticed that Pocho responded to his name and came when called. He decided to train him. This proved highly successful, and the two put on an act for over a decade. Towards the end of Pocho’s life, the South African filmmaker Roger Horrocks made a documentary about the duo. After keeping Shedden company for 20 years, Pocho died of natural causes in 2011.