Cassius reclaims world record as biggest croc
SYDNEY—Cassius has reclaimed his crown as the world’s biggest crocodile in captivity after Lolong, his rival for the title in the Philippines, died.
The 5.48-meter (17 feet 11 inches) Cassius, kept in a park on an island off Australia’s Queensland, held the record until Lolong ( Crocodylus porosus), a 6.17-meter suspected man-eater, was caught in the Philippines 17 months ago.
But with Lolong’s death from a mystery illness on Sunday, Cassius is once again on top, with the huge reptile’s handler saying on Tuesday it will boost business.
“The Guinness Book of World Records contacted us as soon as Lolong died,” Billy Craig, a croc wrangler at Marineland Melanesia where Cassius lives, told Agence France-Presse.
“They said the record will revert back to us. It’s definitely good for business,” he added.
“We changed the sign to the largest crocodile in captivity in Australia, so I guess we can now just remove the Australia part and put it back to the whole world.”
Bunawan tourism
A government-sanctioned hunting party caught Lolong, believed to be around 50 years old, near the town of Bunawan in Agusan del Sur in September 2011 after it was suspected of biting the head off a young schoolgirl and of eating a fisherman.
Its capture made the town famous and Lolong, named after a local crocodile hunter, became a big tourist attraction.
Cassius, estimated to be 110 years old, has been in captivity for 26 years, having been caught in a Northern Territory river after attacking boats and biting off outboard motors.
He was sold to George Craig, who trucked him 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) to Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef where he founded Marineland Melanesia.
Billy Craig said it was a pity Lolong died so young, with a potential 50 years of growth ahead.
“It’s a real shame. Imagine what size it could have grown to in another 50 years,” he said.
Necropsy
Philippine veterinarians conducted an necropsy on Lolong on Tuesday amid concerns it died of mistreatment in a small pen where it was on show for tourists.
“We want to find out the real cause of death so there will be no misinformation and speculation,” Mundita Lim, head of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), told the French news agency AFP, explaining why the necropsy was carried out.
Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde said the results of the necropsy would be announced in two weeks as PAWB experts still had to conduct further laboratory tests on the reptile’s vital organs at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna province.
On Monday, Dr. Alexander Col- lantes of the Davao Crocodile Farm said a nylon twine recovered from Lolong’s gut and in his feces might have disturbed the normal function of its digestive system and could have played a vital role in his death.
But Collantes said the necropsy would establish what really caused the death.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) blamed extreme stress for Lolong’s demise, pointing out that large crocodiles were used to roaming vast ranges in its natural habitat.
“Lolong suffered and died because people wanted to make money off his captivity,” Peta said in a statement.
Lim did not want to comment directly on the animal rights group’s claim until the results of the necropsy were known, although she acknowledged that crocodiles were known to live up to 100 years in the wild.