21-foot monster crocodile caught
Villagers gather by the 21-foot-long crocodile after it was captured on Saturday.
September 6th, 2011
01:01 PM ET

21-foot monster crocodile caught

Wildlife authorities in the Philippines say they have captured a 21-foot-long, 2,370-pound saltwater crocodile, thought to be the largest creature of its kind now in captivity.

The croc was captured in Agusan del Sur marsh on the southern Philippine island of Mindinao, according to a report on GMA News. Hunters had been trying to capture it for 21 days, the report said. It was finally captured on Saturday by a team of about 30 men who used meat to bait it and an eight millimeter metal cable to snare it, according to an Agence-France Presse report on ABS.CBN News.

Edwin Cox Elorde, mayor of the remote town of  Bunawan near where the croc was caught, said the reptile will become the star of a nature park there, according to the AFP report.

The previous largest crocodile in captivity is an 18-footer in Australia, according to Guinness World Records.

Crocodiles are suspected in the deaths of a local fisherman earlier this year and a girl a few years ago, according to the news reports, but authorities could not say whether the monster caught Saturday was responsible.

Cox Elorde told Inquirer news in the Philippines that there could be a thousand more large crocodiles in the marsh, but he denied earlier reports that locals would try to catch another.

He also said the croc captured Saturday has been named Lolong, after local hunter Ernesto “Lolong” Conate, who died of a stroke while helping plan the capture of the reptile.

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Filed under: Animals • Philippines
soundoff (538 Responses)
  1. MELISSA

    omg i would hve been scared if i were to seen such a big thing ;[

    September 20, 2011 at 1:39 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Amelia

    Impressive!

    September 25, 2011 at 2:33 am | Report abuse |
  3. Owlet411

    That is one big Honkin' crocodile!

    October 3, 2011 at 10:27 am | Report abuse |
  4. candice

    Vietnamese villagers in the Philippines? Lmao.... Sorry could not help it!

    October 7, 2011 at 12:59 am | Report abuse |
  5. gina

    I just learned today that crocodiles in Agusan March, where Lolong was caught, already severed the heads a girl, a boy riding in a boat and a fisherman. It was just right that they caught it. People in that place, don't eat crocodiles.

    January 23, 2012 at 4:13 am | Report abuse |
  6. kirk richards

    Too bad there's a bigger one than Lolong out there, with an estimated lenth of 29.5 feet long which their in the process of trying to catch. Brave men, brave men indeed.

    June 1, 2012 at 3:17 pm | Report abuse |
  7. andrew

    now thats a living dinosour

    July 16, 2012 at 8:18 pm | Report abuse |
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