Town's tears and funeral service for enormous crocodile

A town in the southern Philippines plans to hold funeral rites for the world’s largest saltwater crocodile which has died after becoming ill in an eco-tourism park.

Town's tears and funeral service for enormous crocodile

A town in the southern Philippines plans to hold funeral rites for the world’s largest saltwater crocodile which has died after becoming ill in an eco-tourism park.

The mayor of Bunawan town in Agusan del Sur province said the remains of the one-tonne reptile, named Lolong, will be preserved in a museum to keep tourists coming and prevent their community from slipping back into obscurity.

The creature, which measured 6.17 metres, was declared dead on Sunday a few hours after flipping over with a bloated stomach in a pond the park in Bunawan town.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said the town had started to draw in revenue and new developments thanks to the crocodile.

“The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning,” Mr Elorde said. “My phones kept ringing because people wanted to say how affected they are.”

In a news conference, Mr Elorde fought back tears as he recalled how the town took care of the crocodile not as an animal, but like an “adopted son”.

Guinness World Records had proclaimed it the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity last year. The reptile took the top spot from an Australian crocodile that measured more than 17ft and weighed nearly a tonne.

The crocodile was named Lolong, after a government environmental officer who died from a heart attack after travelling to Bunawan to help capture the beast. The crocodile, estimated to be more than 50 years old, was blamed for the deaths of several villagers before Bunawan residents came to love it.

The giant reptile has come to symbolise the rich bio-diversity of Agusan marsh, where it was captured. The vast complex of swamp forests, shallow lakes, lily-covered ponds and wetlands is home to wild ducks, herons, egrets and threatened species like the Philippine Hawk Eagle.

Wildlife experts are set to carry out an investigation into the cause of Lolong’s death, Mr Elorde said.

Bunawan villagers planned to perform a tribal ritual, which involves butchering chicken and pigs as funeral offerings to thank forest spirits for the fame and other blessings the crocodile has brought, the mayor said. A group of Christians are separately offering prayers before the post-mortem investigation.

The rites would be held at the eco-tourism park, where the reptile had emerged as a star attraction, drawing foreign tourists, scientists and wildlife reporting outfits like the National Geographic to Bunawan, a far-flung town of 37,000 people about 515 miles south-east of Manila.

The crocodile’s capture in September 2011 sparked celebrations in Bunawan, but it also raised concerns that more giant crocodiles might lurk in a marshland and creek where villagers fish.

The crocodile was captured with steel cable traps during a hunt prompted by the death of a child in 2009 and the later disappearance of a fisherman. Water buffalos have also been attacked by crocodiles in the area.

About 100 people led by Mr Elorde pulled the crocodile from a stream using a rope and then hoisted it by crane onto a truck.

Mr Elorde’s town wanted to launch a new hunt for a larger crocodile, which he said he and other villagers saw lurking near a river shortly before Lolong was captured. But he said the town needed to get permission from wildlife officials, who have banned such hunting expeditions amid an ongoing survey of the crocodile population in Agusan marsh.

Filipino officials had planned to construct a road to the park to accommodate the growing number of tourists, Mr Elorde said, adding that he planned to have Lolong preserved and placed in a museum so Bunawan villagers and tourists could still marvel at it.

“I’d like them to see the crocodile that broke a world record and put our town on the map,” he said.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Cranes arrive to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse Cranes arrive to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse
Jacob Zuma Former South Africa leader Jacob Zuma barred from running in elections
Nine detained in Tajikistan in relation to Moscow concert hall attack Nine detained in Tajikistan in relation to Moscow concert hall attack
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited