'Lolong' to remain in captivity

BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur  ,Philippines – Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde on Sunday said giant crocodile “Lolong” will remain in captivity as he criticized non-government organizations who want the animal returned to the wild.

Elorde said he would only yield to the proposal if these organizations will give each of the 1,302 Nueva Era residents P500 daily subsistence allowance.

“The 1,302 residents will be affected if we return Lolong back in the wild precisely because they passed a barangay resolution to capture the crocodile due to the danger it poses to them. A 53-year-old Agusan Marsh fisherman has gone missing and the crocodile has also attacked and beheaded a domesticated carabao,” Elorde said.

He said he received a letter from non-government organization Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. urging the local government of Bunawan to return Lolong to the Nueva Era creek where it was captured last Sept. 3.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had earlier made a call for the crocodile to be released.

Elorde also told The STAR that the exact measurements of Lolong are 21 feet long, 3.5 feet in width and 1,075 kilos in weight, contrary to other reports.

He jokingly added that with crocodile experts from the Palawan Wildlife Research and Conservation Center (PWRCC) estimating Lolong to be 50 years old, the world’s biggest crocodile will turn senior citizen 10 years from now.

He said that according to experts, male crocodiles like Lolong can live up to 70 to 100 years.