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Villagers capture World's Largest Crocodile
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About 100 people had to pull the crocodile to a clearing
'It was big enough to swallow three men all at once,' says local mayor. It weighs one ton and is believed responsible for eating at least one fisherman, but this monster crocodile has finally been caught by 100 very cautious men.
Measuring 21ft, the massive creature is the largest crocodile captured alive in recent years. The beast was caught, after a three-week hunt, in a creek in the Philippines by villagers who had lived in fear of it for more than 20 years.
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.
The Philippine crocodile's domain was a river system in Agusan, a poverty-stricken region 500 miles south east of Manila, but while it was a constant threat to villagers no-one was brave enough to try to capture it.
However, when a village fisherman went missing and the crocodile became the chief suspect, plans were hatched in order to catch it.
It was placed under observation and when it was witnessed by several villagers killing a water buffalo they knew their suspicions were right.
Villagers set four net traps, which the crocodile destroyed with a mighty snap of its jaws. So the second time around the villagers used traps made of steel cables and this time the animal failed to get away.
At least 100 men were required to pull the huge reptile on to the banks of the creek where, after a great deal of difficulty, it was bound up and then lifted by crane on to the back of a truck.
amberco@swbell.net