Philippine Town Mourns Largest Captive Crocodile

A southern Philippine town plans to hold funeral rites for the world’s largest saltwater crocodile and then preserve its remains in a museum to keep tourists coming and prevent their community from slipping back into obscurity, the town’s mayor said on Monday.The 1-ton crocodile was declared dead Sunday a few hours after flipping over with a bloated stomach in a pond in an eco-tourism park in Bunawan town, Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said. “The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning,” Elorde said from Bunawan in Agusan del Sur province. Guinness World Records had proclaimed it the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity last year, measuring the giant at 6.17 meters. –AP