Monster saltwater crocodile, Lolong, caught in Philippines may be largest ever taken alive

The colossal crocodile caught in the Philippines Saturday has been given a name - and officials are checking to see if the 20-foot beast is the largest croc of its kind ever ensnared alive. 

\"Lolong,\" as the monster saltwater croc has been dubbed, was suspected of being a man-eater, leading people in the Bunawan township in the southe Philippines to rejoice when he was caught in a steel-cable trap and pulled from a creek, The Associated Press reported.

His capture led to a mini-festival in the farming village about 515 miles southeast of the capital of Manila.

But officials waed Tuesday that there may be an even bigger croc lurking in the area's vast marshes.

\"There is a bigger one, and it could be the one creating problems,\" wildlife expert Ronnie Sumiller, who led the team that pulled Lolong out from the deep, told The Associated Press.

Price haul: Residents use their hands to measure the 21ft salt-water crocodile

Long tail: Dozens of local residents gather around the animal, which is believed to have killed a fisherman

Giant catch: Mayor Cox Elorde of Bunawan township, Agusan del Sur Province, pretends to measure a huge crocodile which was captured by residents and crocodile farm staff along a creek in Bunawan

Sumiller, who has hunted troublesome crocs for two decades, said a new search has been launched to nab monster croc No. 2, which he and residents have previously seen in the marshes.

\"The villagers were saying 10 percent of their fear was gone because of the first capture,\" Sumiller told The Associated Press. \"But there is still the other 90 percent to take care of.\"

If the second croc is caught and found to be even larger than Lolong, that will be quite a feat.

Wildlife officials were attempting to find out Tuesday whether one-ton Lolong is the biggest saltwater croc ever caught alive in the world, Theresa Mundita Lim, of the country's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, told The Associated Press.

A saltwater croc caught in Australia is listed by Guinness World Records as the largest crocodile in captivity: that beast is 17 feet, 11.75 inches long.

Saltwater crocodiles can live for more than 100 years and grow to a ridiculous 23 feet in length.

Lolong, weighing a scale-busting 2,370 pounds, is thought to be about 50 years old.

Action Adventure, a park in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., says its giant croc, Utan, which it calls \"King of the Crocs,\" is the largest of its kind in captivity in the U.S. Utan is more than 20 feet in length.

A three-week hunt for Lolong was launched after villagers reported that a giant croc devoured a water buffalo. Lolong was suspected of attacking a local fisherman who disappeared in July.

But Sumiller said that when he induced Lolong to vomit, he found no human remains - adding to the theory that a second monster is still prowling the murky marshes.

Lolong will be the star attraction of an ecotourism park that is planned for the area.