I have done vertical panos of giraffes, but never one of a crocodile.
I really enjoyed the description of the shooting experience, and of the final editing and printing.
It is thrilling, and just a bit scary, to be that close to an apex predator. Shooting before sunrise on foot, listening to lions in the background, might have some of the same emotional texture.
I saw a croc in the Mara River that was over 5 feet in width - not length, but transverse, across the belly. It made crocs fifteen feet long look dainty by comparison. Kind of like a primeval submarine.