Johannesburg - He was born in 1900 and has survived two world wars. Henry, the Nile crocodile, turns 114 on Tuesday and is the oldest known crocodile in captivity, residing at the Crocworld Conservation Centre in Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal.
He began his life in the Okavango Delta in Botswana and was captured in 1903.
According to Google book African Expedition Volume 6, the crocodile “was a man-eater and ate several children”. A Botswana tribe had asked an elephant hunter known as “Sir Henry” to kill the crocodile but after consultation, they decided to sentence it to a lifetime of captivity as punishment.
Henry has since made his home at Crocworld where he enjoys sun-tanning at his very own pond, the centre's general manager Martin Rodrigues said.
“Henry has a pretty wonderful life at the centre with his six wives, and this year his record-breaking birthday will be celebrated with balloons and cake for all of his well-wishes on the big day,” said Rodrigues.
Henry even has his own Twitter account called “henrythecroc”.
Sapa