Lolong, Largest Crocodile, Dies in Captivity; Villager Mourning

Lolong, the world's largest crocodile in captivity, has died of unknown illness in remote Philippine town.

Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people in Agusan del Sur province about 515 miles southeast of Manila, where the giant reptile was caught, is mourning the death of its most sought-after resident.

According to “The Philippine Star,” in the last three weeks, the 50 year old beast had been stricken by a bout of diarrhea after swallowing a nylon cord. The reptile’s stomach started swelling and he was pronounced dead at 8 last night.

Since its dramatic capture in September of 2011, Lolong has attracted floods of tourists from all over the world to the otherwise unknown town of Bunawan. The beast was named after one of Philippine’s greatest crocodile hunter, Lolong, who died from heart attack while trying to capture the reptile.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, said Rowena Elorde, special spokesperson for the Bunawan local government.

“We tried our best to save Lolong and we are sad that this happened to him,” Elorde continued, adding that Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde even cradled the weakened crocodile in his arms.

Lolong was declared by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest crocodile in captivity, at 20.24 feet or 6.17 meters long and weighing 2,370 pounds or 1.075 kilograms.

He was measured in November 2011 by Australian crocodile expert Adam Britton of National Geographic.