Zoologist says Philippine crocodile is the world’s largest

A zoologist on Wednesday said a giant crocodile caught two months ago in a marshland in the southern Philippines is the biggest reptile in captivity in the world.

Adam Britton, an Australian crocodile expert, confirmed that the 1-ton crocodile caged in a nature park in Bunawan town in Agusan del Sur province, was 6.43 metres long.

"There's no doubt in my mind that he's the biggest crocodile," he said.

Britton, part of a team from National Geographic, was making a documentary about the crocodile nicknamed Lolong.

In 2008, Britton was commissioned by Guinness World Records to measure Cassius, a saltwater crocodile captured in Australia that measured 5.48 metres and is the current world record holder as the largest crocodile in captivity.

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde said it took local and national wildlife officials and crocodile hunters 24 days to capture Lolong who had allegedly killed and eaten a water buffalo, a fisherman and a 12-year-old girl.


/DPA/