Guinness experts to visit 'Lolong'

BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur, Philippines  – Representatives of US-based National Geographic and Guinness Book of World Records will visit and document “Lolong,” hailed to be the world’s largest crocodile caught alive.

Journal Fabella, the country’s representative of National Geographic, confirmed documenters and experts from the US will arrive anytime soon in the country along with representatives of Guinness.

Fabella said there is no definite date the National Geographic and Guinness experts would arrive but that the representatives of Guinness would be coming from New Zealand.

Fabella said the purpose of the visit would be to determine if indeed Lolong deserves to be the biggest crocodile in the world.

The 21-foot crocodile was snared alive in the Agusan Marsh last Sept. 3. The reptile was named after one of the captors who died from a heart attack while preparing to capture the giant crocodile.

“We will call once we arrive and you can interview them,” Fabella said.

Fabella, along with CNN reporters, was among the first foreign journalists who visited this town and took a closer look at Lolong.

Earlier, town Mayor Edwin Elorde announced representatives from Guinness would be coming to settle once and for all claims that the one-ton “Lolong” is a record-breaking holder.

Rowena Bunawan, Mayor Elorde’s media coordinator, yesterday said officials of Guinness World Records wrote a letter stating their intention to visit and document Lolong.

Elorde added Lolong is still healthy even after the reptile refused to eat for several days following his capture.

Guinness, in its website, said they are currently waiting for further evidence to verify if the current record has been broken.

The current record for the largest crocodile in captivity was set by Cassius in 2008, an Australian saltwater crocodile measuring 5.48 meters (17 feet, 11.75 inches).

The largest crocodile was a prehistoric species Sarcosuchus imperator, which lived around 110 million years ago.

Recent fossilized remains found in the Sahara Desert suggest the creature took around 50-60 years to grow to its full length of around 11-12 meters (37-40 ft) with its maximum weight of around eight tons.