The Man Who Lives With Crocodiles

A story from South Africa:

"The most amazing story was told to me by Boy Hancock, the ranger who took over Ndumu Game Reserve after we left. It was reported to him by the game guards, and Sigohlo was one of them — a trusty and reliable man.
"The guards were on patrol in the Reserve on the Pongolo where the new channel cuts through into Baga-Baga pan and past Nangri, an island, which the amaTonga swore was haunted. Dusk was falling as they made their way through the riverine forest when Sigohlo pointed to the river and they saw a man floating downstream with only his head above water. The guards shouted at him to get out quickly, for the river was alive with crocodiles. When the man was directly opposite the guards he grabbed an overhanging branch and half pulled himself out of the water. At that moment a crocodile head popped up behind him, and the guards watched in horror, expecting to see him pulled under. But the croc merely bumped its head against the man’s back. He turned round, gave the crocodile a gentle push with his hand, then climbed out. He looked at the guards once, grunted, and vanished into the reeds.
"An almost incredible story, but what made it ring true to me was the guards’ description of the crocodile bumping its head against the man’s back. This is how the crocodile behaves in the water. I had seen it on other occasions at Umfolozi when zebra had been taken in the Black Umfolozi River. There was also no earthly reason why three guards should make up a story like this. Boy Hancock questioned each one individually, but there were no discrepancies in their story.
"Boy also spoke to amaTonga living on the edge of the Salene forest, and they said this man was well known to them; he had merely gone wild and was living with the crocodiles."