A gigantic crocodile captured by citizens of the Philippines has been
officially declared the largest in captivity by the Guinness World
Records.
The 20-foot long (6 metres) crocodile, known as Lolong, was captured by the residents of Bunawan last September.
Since its capture, Lolong became the centrepiece of a new park and research centre which has drawn thousands of tourists to the town. The town's mayor, Edwin Cox Elorde, claims the town has earned 3 million pesos, roughly £45,000, from the massive beast.
It had been blamed for the deaths of a water buffalo and a missing fisherman, so the crocodile was hauled in by a crowd of over 100 people last year, pulled from a river after a three-week hunt.
The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town then built an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 500 miles from Manila.
The 20-foot long (6 metres) crocodile, known as Lolong, was captured by the residents of Bunawan last September.
Since its capture, Lolong became the centrepiece of a new park and research centre which has drawn thousands of tourists to the town. The town's mayor, Edwin Cox Elorde, claims the town has earned 3 million pesos, roughly £45,000, from the massive beast.
It had been blamed for the deaths of a water buffalo and a missing fisherman, so the crocodile was hauled in by a crowd of over 100 people last year, pulled from a river after a three-week hunt.
The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town then built an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 500 miles from Manila.