Photo courtesy of Reuters

A 21-foot (6.4-meter), 1,075-kilogram (2,370-pound) crocodile was captured in Agusan del Sur Province, Philippines after a three-week hunt on Tuesday.

According to crocodile hunter Ronnie Sumiller, the reptile may have eaten a farmer who went missing in July, along with several water buffaloes in the southern town of Bunawan.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

‘We were very nervous about tackling this beast but it was our duty to deal with it because it was a threat to many villagers and their farm animals. When I finally saw it after its capture I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was big enough to swallow three men all at once,’ said Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde.

It is expected to be the star attraction at a new eco-tourism park that is being set up in Agusan.
‘It will be the biggest star of the park. The villagers, of course, are very happy that they have been able to turn this dangerous crocodile from a threat into an asset,’ Elorde added.

Photo courtesy of Reuters

The 21-foot crocodile in the Philippines is said to be the largest ever captured. Its nearest rival in the monster stakes is Cassius, an Australian salt-water crocodile which measures a ‘mere’ 18ft – and which is still on the loose in the Northern Territory.