Sunday, February 10, 2013

LOLONG IS DEAD!

I remember writing about "LOLONG" so when I read about the death of Lolong, I felt sad for the crocodile... and sad for Bunawan town because of course, it could affect the town's tourism!

Here is what I read:

Lolong The World’s Largest Crocodile in Captivity Dead

The world’s biggest crocodile in captivity, Lolong dead as confirmed by Mayor Elorde of Bunawan, time of death is estimated at  8.05 pm.

So I would like to share my story again!

This was at the later part of our road trip from ZC to Dapitan to CDO to Bukidnon to Davao to Davao Del Norte to Agusan to Misamis Oriental and back to ZC.
But, since this is one of the most unexpected places I would ever visit, I am posting this ahead!



We visited Lolong, the largest and longest crocodile in the world (in captivity) in Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur!


These days, I have heard in the news that Lolong has been officially named by the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest and longest saltwater crocodile in captivity at 20.25 feet!!!

We had to walk a long way to go to the place where Lolong is kept...



The warnings as stated in the Visayan dialect.
Finally, here we are!



Thanks to these folks... they take care of Lolong!

Where Lolong stays now...

Another pond...

Actually, they told us we were lucky because today there was no water in the pond. There are times, the pond is filled and all you see are Lolong's eyes  and top part of his body!!!

Lolong really looks old. Note that there are moss attached to his scales. Lolong has very slow movements...




Then, he opened his mouth and kept this position for sometime...



Though, they do not ideally want to put Lolong in captivity, it is also a choice because safety is the issue.

This is the area near the site. The place is really beautiful and the people are so happy swimming and enjoying the water!
...Wonder if there are crocs here?



And when we left, we didn't forget the Lolong bread...


This was the very kind boy who let us borrow his umbrella for free...
usually, they rent out the umbrellas.



Here is what I gathered about Lolong from Wikipedia:
Lolong is the largest crocodile in captivity. He is an Indo-Pacific or Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) measured at 20 feet 3 inches (6.17 meters), making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail.[1][2][3][4][5]
In November of 2011, Australian crocodile expert Dr. Adam Britton of National Geographic sedated and measured Lolong in his enclosure and confirmed Lolong as the world's longest crocodile ever caught and placed in captivity.[1][2]
Officials of the town of Bunawan where the crocodile was captured said that experts from the National Geographic Channel found out that Lolong breaks the record of the previous record-holder: a 17 feet and 11.75 inches (5.48 meters) male saltwater crocodile named "Cassius" kept in the crocodile park of MarineLand Melanesia in Queensland, Australia.
Lolong was caught in a Bunawan creek in the province of Agusan del Sur in the Philippines on September 3, 2011.[3][6] He was captured with the joint cooperation of the local government unit, residents and crocodile hunters of Palawan. It took three weeks to hunt down the giant crocodile and about 100 people to take him out of the water.[7] Lolong broke twice from restraining ropes before he was properly secured and he became extremely aggressive several times.[8] He is estimated to be at least 50 years old.[9]
Lolong is suspected of eating a farmer who went missing in the town of Bunawan, and also of consuming a 12-year-old girl whose head was discovered two years earlier. He is also the primary suspect in the disappearance of water buffaloes in the area.[10] In the examination of the stomach contents after his capture, remnants of water buffaloes reported missing before Lolong's capture were found, but no human remains. Experts say the vast Agusan Marsh's tourism potential needs intensive study to avoid fatal human-crocodile encounters. The capture of Lolong is a good advantage in protecting it for survival, against danger he posed to the humans, an attraction and income for the locality, and an opportunity for scientific study.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) activist Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. with a cooperation of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has urged the local government of Bunawan to return Lolong in the creek of barangay Nueva Era, where the giant reptile was captured. But, in an ongoing debate, Bunawan mayor Edwin “Cox” Elorde and residents of the barangay oppose the crocodile's release, arguing that it would threaten individuals living in the vicinity of the creek.
The crocodile is named after Ernesto "Lolong" Goloran Cañete, one of the veteran crocodile hunters from the Palawan Crocodile and Wildlife Reservation Center who led the hunt.[11] After weeks of stalking, the hunt for Lolong took its toll on Cañete's health. He died of a heart attack several days before the crocodile was captured.
After six months of waiting since the visit of Australian zoologist and crocodile expert Dr. Adam Britton, Lolong was officially certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s biggest crocodile in captivity.”[14] The certification was read in public during the celebration of Araw ng Bunawan.[15]

Lolong is part of the ecosystem...we do hope he would be cared for well in captivity.


Now we read that Lolong is dead!
This may mean that if we are not in our own environment, we may not live long!

20 comments:

  1. This is a bad news. Too bad I haven't seen Him in person and I can never see him.

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  2. Sad and bad news for all of us. For sure mainstream news media will have it's story. Will wait for it.

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  3. It's nice that you were able to see Lolong in flesh. Lolong will already be a part of our history and you were able to take part of that history.

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  4. It would have been nice to see Lolong in person but we also have our own large & intimidating crocs here in Cebu and it really scares the love of me when I see it. Ours here is named Lapu-Lapu. :-)

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  5. Aw so it's true that Lolong the crocodile died already. I have read it on FB. Lolong looks at old na nga. Sad that we haven't see Lolong in person.

    Mommy Maye2

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  6. Kung tama ang rinig ko, mga 50 years old na daw si Lolong. Sad talaga yun for Bunawan eco-tourism. Heard that his body will be studied to determine the cause of death.

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  7. The Lolong Bread is really interesting! There is also a lechon bread being sold in for only Php 120 per loaf that's great for children's parties.

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    1. Where could we get the lechon bread, Raisie? Here in ZC?

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  8. The news was all over my facebook feed last night since I live in Agusan. I have not seen Lolong because I have reservations on animals in captivity (although I love Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park). Sayang. Sad day indeed.

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  9. Oh that's sad news! Did they say what was the cause of death?

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  10. Yes, I heard about it last night! May cause of death na ba? Wala pa last night eh. So sad!

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  11. Too bad I didnt see him before he died :( And yes, sayang at mababawasan ang tourism nila

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  12. He is dead na? Maybe animals don't thrive in captivity

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  13. Heard and read it on the news. It was sad knowing that he died in captivity perhaps it was really not good for him to be in captivity but it's for the safety of the people.

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  14. This is such a sad news indeed. Love that idea of the Lolong bread. Hehehe! Did they investigate on the cause of it's death?

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  15. oh, i also heard this...di raw kumain sin last week ng january; good to see that the community got livelihood because of lolong

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  16. They said that lolong is already old and maybe it was time for him to take rest. We should be happy that once and I think forever, Philippines will be in the world map because of Lolong.

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  17. I'm scared of reptiles; I cringe every time I see one at the zoo. But this is a very sad news, I just hope Lolong died because of old age.

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  18. Wow, you're so lucky that you were able to see Lolong before he died. When I saw his photos here, honestly he looked really old and weak(?). He died because of a couple of diseases according to the news. I think it's really hard for an animal to live away from his habitat. But for safety reasons of course, they had to do that. I just hope there was any other way so he won't be away from his habitat. But just imagining him still in Agusan Marsh scares me to death, I'm already thinking about other people's safety. Oh, well. It's just sad that Lolong died earlier than the other crocodiles in captive, which have been in captive for years.

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