By Ben O. Tesiorna

The world's largest saltwater crocodile in captivity has died inside its pen in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur in the Philippines Sunday evening, 17 months after it was captured.

Bunawan Vice Mayor Sylvia Elorde confirmed the death of the 6.17 meter long crocodile named by the locals as Lolong, after its captor who died of heart attack shortly after they captured the crocodile in September 3, 2011.

Authorities said Lolong's stomach bloated before it died around 8 p.m. Sunday (Philippine time). Experts are presently doing a check-up on the crocodile to determine the cause of death.

Lolong weighed 1.075 ton when captured in the marshland of Bunawan.

Lolong was suspected to have eaten one fisherman, 52-year old Daniel Austerio, who was reported missing last July 2011. Several water buffalos were also eaten by the said crocodile with one resident having been able to take footage of the said crocodile while devouring the beast of burden.

After the series of attacks, authorities sought the help of crocodile experts from Palawan who in turn made a three-week hunt before successfully snaring the monster crocodile.

Crocodile hunters set a total of 21 traps. Earlier traps were simply destroyed by the crocodile. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile.

It took about 100 people to pull the crocodile out of the Mangasngag creek where it was snared.

The local government constructed a crocodile fence for Lolong since then and had collected fees to anyone who wanted to see it up close. Lolong had generated millions of pesos in revenue for the local government and was considered as the number one tourist attraction of the said town.

Elorde said they still have not made any plans on what to do with Lolong's body. But it is more likely to be preserved and displayed as the town's attraction.

Crocodiles inhabit the Agusan marshland with some saying that there are bigger crocodiles still out there.

The  marshland is inhabited by about 37,000 people. In 2009, a child was decapitated after being attacked by a large crocodile in the same area. BOT