Man-Eating Crocodile Captured in Southern Philippines

Man-Eating Crocodile Captured in Southern Philippines

Man-Eating Crocodile. Manila, Philippines — A huge alive saltwater crocodile was captured by veteran hunters and villagers in a southern Philippines town, an official announced Monday. The crocodile weighs more than one ton and is considered one of the largest captured alive crocodiles in recent years.

The crocodile will be placed in a planned ecotourism park. The huge male croc will be the star of the said park. Edwin Cox Elorde, mayor of the town of Bunawan in Agusan del Sur province, said that the 21 foot or 6.4 meter male crocodile was captured along the creek after a 3 week hunt. Dozens of hunters and villagers ensnared the crocodile before finally it was captured.

The mayor said the captured man-eating crocodile was able to kill a water buffalo last month as witnessed by some villagers. A fisherman missing since July has also been suspected to have been attacked by the captured humongous crocodile. The town mayor has sought the help of crocodile experts from a crocodile farm in Palawan province.

It was nerve-wracking but as mayor, it is my duty to protect the town's inhabitants to things that pose threat to security, Elorde said after being interviewed via telephone. When I finally saw the crocodile, I couldn't believe it at first. It was so big, the mayor exclaimed.

100 people had to cooperate in order to pull the crocodile out of the trap the villagers set up. It weighs 1,075 kilograms or 2,370 pounds. A crane was needed to successfully lift it in a truck.

The vast Agusan marshland is home to various species of crocodiles. It is about 830 kilometers or 515 miles southeast of capital Manila. The marshland together with surrounding farmlands remains to be a source of living for 37,000 villagers.

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday September 06 2011, 1:57 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0