World’s largest croc national museum bound

After several hours of land travel from Davao City to Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Lolong, the largest saltwater crocodile in the world at 20 feet and 3 inches is now home.

The Guinness Book of World Records declared Lolong the world’s largest crocodile in captivity after it was measured by Dr. Adam Britton of the National Geographic in May 2012.

People from the local government of Bunawan pulled out Lolong from the Davao Crocodile Park at 2 PM Monday. However, those who were instructed to fetch the crocodile’s preserved body have no idea about the crocodile’s fate as they were just told to get Lolong from Davao and bring it back to Agusan.

“We have no idea about the LGUs plan for Lolong,” Davao Crocodile Park operations manager Sergio A. Acquiatan said. He added they are also not part of the arrangement between the Bunawan local government and the national museum.

CrocodilePark President Philip S. Dizon, who has previously urged the Bunawan Ecopark officials to get Lolong back since the crocodile needs a more modern preservation method, said the world’s largest crocodile will soon be sent to the National Museum to undergo the process of Taxidermy.

Taxidermy is the process of preserving and preparing the skins of animals especially vertebrates for stuffing. Lolong’s taxidermy specimen will be displayed at the National Museum but will be brought back to Bunawan later on, Mr. Dizon said.

Lolong, a certified celebrity at the Bunawan Ecopark and Wildlife Reservation Center where it was kept after it was caught in a local creek on September 3, 2011, was brought to the park in February this year after it died from pneumonia and cardiac arrest.

A team of investigators from the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) and the National Museum was sent to Agusan del Sur last February to look into Lolong’s death and assist in the preservation of the reptile.