Bujang Senang, recognized by many as the notorious crocodile responsible for numerous fatalities in Sarawak is viewed differently in the cultural narrative of the Iban people, where they believe that the deadly crocodile was once a man that was cursed to transform into a crocodile.

Ranking as the world’s fourth-largest crocodile, Bujang Senang has become the fear of the villagers around the Batang Lupar River since 1941. Its demise came at the hands of a combined effort of the police and villagers, requiring them four hours.

Legend holds that Bujang Senang was formerly an Iban warrior named Simalungun during the time when people practiced ‘mengayau’ (cutting off and collecting the enemies’ heads). His mystic skills rendered his body making him immune from attack and becoming an unbeatable force on the battlefield.

The mystic arts, however, carried a taboo that, if violated, the practitioner would become vulnerable. Simalungun’s enemies, desperate to overcome him, kidnapped his wife in an attempt to extract the closely guarded secret of his taboo. In a confrontation at the Batang Lupar River, Simalungun’s enemies released his wife but fatally impaled her with a javelin before he could reach her.

Consumed by grief and rage, Simalungun engaged in a fierce battle. To their surprise, his enemies discovered that weapons could harm him once he entered the river. It then came to a quick conclusion that Simalungun’s taboo forbade him from standing in a river, and despite his formidable skills, he was eventually defeated. His lifeless body, along with that of his wife, was thrown into the river. Mysterious forces dwelling in the river cursed Simalungun’s remains, transforming him into a colossal crocodile, identifiable by a distinct white stripe on its back.

During its prime, Bujang Senang was rumored to rival the size of a bus, but by the time of its demise in 1992, it was measured at around 20 feet. Today, the skull of Bujang Senang is on display at Jong’s Crocodile Farm in Sarawak.