‘Lolong’ authentication faces delay
Guinness World Records has delayed its validation process to determine if “Lolong,” the 1,075-kilogram saltwater crocodile captured here on Sept. 3, is indeed the largest reptile in captivity, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Mayor Edwin Elorde said Saturday.
Earlier, Elorde said Guiness representatives would be arriving in his town either Monday or Tuesday based on communications the group had sent him.
But on Saturday, Elorde said the validation process may actually take place next month.
He said Guinness informed him that it was still looking for a validator to authenticate Lolong’s numbers.
“Guinness is still looking for a validator because it’s a different category,” Elorde said by phone.
The current record holder as the biggest saltwater crocodile in captivity is “Cassius,” a 17-foot, 11.75 inch-long saltwater crocodile caught in Australia.
Aside from Guinness, Elorde said the National Geographic Society also informed him that their documentation process on Lolong would be delayed too because it had yet to form a team to do the job.
“NatGeo thought they could convene a team easily but they found out it was hard because the members would come from different countries,” he said.
Elorde said that if Lolong was finally named the biggest crocodile by the Guinness World Records, his hold on that record might not last long.
He said that when they captured Lolong, there was another crocodile, lurking near him and it appeared to be much bigger in size.
“The head was larger and its back wider,” Elorde said.
But unlike Lolong, the other reptile did not take the bait.
He said it was possible that many crocodiles larger than Lolong were lurking in the 98,000-hectare Agusan marshland.
There are an estimated 5,000 crocodiles of various types in the marsh, which also plays host to a number of wildlife species, Elorde said.
“It is possible that some of the crocodiles can grow so big because their habitat has remained undisturbed for years,” Elorde said.
He said even some animals from other species were larger than usual because of this condition.
He cited the case of “fishes that grow and weigh more than 9 kilograms and snails growing to about 9-inches long.”
Blessing for Bunawan
Since Lolong’s capture, Elorde said many surprising things have come to his town, which is one of the country’s poorest.
Aside from renewed interest in what Bunawan can offer beside Lolong, he said government agencies also started offering projects for the town.
“Before it was very difficult to ask for projects, but now they are the ones who are coming to us and making proposals,” he said.
Lolong is now housed in a concrete cage and can submerge in a makeshift pond.
Josephine De Leon, wildlife division chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had examined Lolong and concluded that the reptile was in good health.
