‘Lolong’ back as star at Nat’l Museum of Natural History

MEET AND GREET A replica of the 6.17-meter-long crocodile known as “Lolong” welcomes visitors at theNational Museum of Natural History,which formally opened in Manila on Friday. —LYN RILLON

The skeletal remains of Lolong, once the world’s largest crocodile in captivity, proved to be a major crowd drawer at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), which formally opened on Friday to coincide with National Museum Day.

Measuring 6.17 meters or almost 21 feet from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail, Lolong was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest saltwater crocodile ever captured.

After a three-month hunt, local villagers from an impoverished town in Agusan del Sur province captured the reptile in September 2011, and kept it in a small pond.  Lolong died in February 2013, after what experts said was multiple organ failure due to the stress of captivity.

HUGE TURNOUT Themuseum exhibits include this lifesize replica of a reef manta ray and awhale shark. The NMNH’s Friday opening attracted a long line ofmuseum visitors. —PHOTOS FROM LYN RILLON

Repurposed building

At least 3,000 local and foreign tourists flocked to the museum that is now housed at the renovated Department of Tourism (DOT) building on what is known as the Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila.

“It is a heartwarming response from so many young people who are coming to take a first glimpse of the museum,” said museum board chair Ramon del Rosario.

“We hope that by having a very outstanding museum, generations of Filipinos would begin to appreciate (our) being Filipino,” he added.

The NMNH project, Del Rosario said, is the result of strong support from national government agencies that spanned five administrations, from that of former President Fidel Ramos to President Duterte’s.

Museum director Jeremy Barns said the project was also the result of collaboration between the government and the private sector which chipped in with a P600-million donation.

Five levels

Del Rosario said the NMNH project cost about P2 billion and involved the renovation of the old DOT building to conform to today’s disaster-proof standards, while retaining its neo-classical architectural design.

The museum features five levels of galleries that showcase the Philippines’ unique flora and fauna and its rich biodiversity, said assistant museum director Ana Labrador.

A central feature of the museum is the “Tree of Life,” a steel structure that supports the domed roof, with a lattice pattern that provides natural daylight. The tree trunk houses the building’s only elevator—a glass-encased tube that allows visitors easy access to the galleries, while providing a 270-degree view of the museum’s main hall.

The main exhibition hall is adorned with large drapes featuring the tarsier and the tamaraw.

“(The museum) is an institution that we can all be very proud of, (as) its contents is about instilling a sense of pride in our identity as Filipinos, in our natural environment,” Del Rosario said.

The galleries, however, remain incomplete, Barns said, adding that they have to make do with whatever they can manage to complete in time for the scheduled opening.

“Over the next weeks, we programmed successive openings, and are confident we will be successful in fitting out the rest of the galleries,” the museum director said.