Lolong : Philippines largest Crocodile discovery
As student , everyday I experience new adventures and hear new discoveries that I apply in my everyday existence in the earth. One of the new discoveries I encountered is the news about Lolong : The largest crocodile in the world . The said crocodile was visited by National Geographic and Guinness experts that proclaimed ‘Lolong’ as part of the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as World’s largest Crocodile. As a Filipino , I became proud of ‘Lolong’ for having been part of the Guinness World Data Book. Specifically , Journal Fabella was the one who hailed ‘Lolong’ the 21 ft and three inch crocodile to be declared in mid-March 2012.
Lolong was captured on September 3,2011 in the swamps of Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur . It was weighing 1,075 kilos. Some people say that “It is not because Lolong posed a danger to us who are measuring him but you could get the accurate measurement of him when he is sleeping considering his huge size”. This was once said by Ronnie Sumiller ; Palawan-based Crocodile expert. A Filipina who claimed representative of National Geographic prohibited local media from taking pictures and videos of Lolong. Bunawan mayor Edwin Elorde said “Lolong was kept at a fenced pond at the remote Bunawan Eco-Park and Research Center in Barangay Consuelo . How many kilos do you think is the last meal of ‘Lolong’? You probably won’t believe that the last meal of ‘Lolong’ was 12 kilos of meat last Nov.9. J J J
Lolong was still adjusting to his new habitats and “Sumiller” was observing his new behavioral adjustments. Lolong was a choosy crocodile because he prefers pork rather than meat. People from Agusan say that it took three weeks to hunt down the giant crocodile and 100 people to take it out of water. Lolong is suspected of eating a farmer who went missing in July,2011 in the town of Bunawan , and of killing a 12-year-old-girl whose head is bitten off two years ago before Lolong’s captivity. This crocodile was named after Ernesto “Lolong” Goloran Cañete ; one of the veteran crocodile hunters from the Palawan Crocodile and Wildlife Reservation Center. The town has made the giant beast the centerpiece of an ecotourism park for species found in the marshlands near the township. Lolong is now kept in an enclosure in the Bunawan Ecopark and Wildlife Reservation Center in Barangay Consuelo located 8 km out of town. People from nearby towns are now trooping to Lolong’s eco-park after the Palawan Wildlife and Conservation Center finally gave a go signal to open it to the public on September 17.
The eco-park has a P20 pesos entrance fee for adults and P15 for children. These proceeds will be used to buy for Lolong’s food and for the maintenance of the eco-park. According to Bunawan town Mayor Edwin Elorde, as of October 26th, 2011, the celebrity crocodile has already earned nearly half-a-million pesos in donations, entrance fees, and parking fees, with a daily income of about P8,000 that month.
Not all Filipinos are pleased in the gigantic appeal of ‘Lolong’ because of the harm he brought to us , but all I know is he bring pride to our country.
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By : Rieka Janthine G. Villena – VI-Jupiter of University of Batangas
