Giant 21-Foot Crocodile Caught in Philippines [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

By Nadine DeNinno | September 06 2011 4:58 PM

A giant 21-foot crocodile weighing in at about a ton was caught by a group of villagers in the Philippines, possibly making this the largest crocodile captured alive ever.

REUTERS

Bunawan residents named the 21-foot crocodile "Lolong." The catch turned locals into budding Crocodile Dundees.

Sponsorship Link

The giant crocodile has been plaguing the town for years, as it reportedly attacked and killed a water buffalo last month according to witnesses and possibly a fisherman and child who have been missing since July.

Villagers and veteran hunters of Bunawan, 515 miles southeast of the capital Manila, caught the crocodile after a hunt which lasted about three weeks.

It took nearly 100 people to pull the 2,370 pound crocodile out of a nearby creek where it was caught in sturdy traps with steel cables. A crane lifted the giant crocodile to a truck where it was placed in a caged-off area under the control of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers, Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes.

The town plans to use the giant 21-foot crocodile as an exhibit, along with other species found in the marshland, in an ecotourism park to be built in the future.

Elorde said the villagers of Bunawan were happy the captured 21 foot crocodile went from a threat into an asset.

View video footage of the villagers celebrating below: