Giant 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile captured alive in Philippines{Full Story Pics} Video

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Villagers and veteran hunters have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in a southern Philippine town, an official said Monday.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur province after a three-week hunt. It could be one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in recent years, he said, quoting local crocodile experts.

Elorde said the crocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.

He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.

"We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers," Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. "When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."

After initial sightings at a creek, the hunters set four traps, which the crocodile destroyed. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile late Saturday, he said.

About 100 people had to pull the crocodile, which weighs about 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilograms), from the creek to a clearing where a crane lifted it into a truck, he said.

The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town plans to build an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila, Elorde said.

"It will be the biggest star of the park," Elorde said, adding that villagers were happy that they would be able to turn the dangerous crocodile "from a threat into an asset."

Despite the catch, villagers remain wary because several crocodiles still roam the outskirts of the farming town of about 37,000 people.

They have been told to avoid venturing into marshy areas alone at night, Elorde said.

This one was found back in Jul 11, 2011

Giant 13-foot crocodile captured alive in Palawan, Philippines

A giant crocodile believed to have killed a fisherman in the swamp areas of Palawan in southern Philippines was captured alive near the area where the body parts of the missing fisherman were recovered.

The 13-foot crocodile weighing 770 pounds had to be tied and blindfolded and brought to a place where it will be examined to find out if it was indeed the one that killed the fisherman. Alex Marcaida, spokesman for the environment council in Palawan said the giant crocodile was captured using a net in the Rio Tuba river near the place where the fisherman's body parts were found. The crocodile will be induced to vomit to find out if the stomach contains human tissues or signs that would link the crocodile to the killing of the fisherman. Marcaida said at least three people have been killed in Palawan by crocodiles that thrive in the mangrove areas of the province. It is possible the crocodiles habitat may have been disturbed by people who set up makeshift houses in the mangrove areas where the crocodile lives.