The largest saltwater crocodile, Lolong, died in captivity from ‘stress’ and a ‘fungal infection’ back in 2013, but a recent Reddit post brought him back into the spotlight. Lolong was 21 feet long and won its place in the Guinness World Records book back in 2012.

Before Lolong’s capture, the crocodile was suspected of eating a fisherman and a schoolgirl who mysteriously went missing in the Philippines. The reptile has also been accused of biting the head off of a 12-year-old girl and eating her two years before that incident.

After these incidents, the crocodile was hunted for three weeks before being found and locked up until his eventual death. The massive animal weighed almost a ton and was placed in a cage in a tourism park.

After being locked up for two years, the animal reportedly died in 2013 from stress and fungal infection. The Mayor of the town told the Philippine Daily newspaper,

“He refused to eat since last month, and we noticed a change in the colour of his faeces. Our personnel also noticed an unusual ballooning of the reptile’s belly.”

A local vet told BBC that Lolong’s health has been declining for quite some time. When Lolong died, the mayor wanted his body to be preserved so people could still see him. He now is at the National Museum of Natural History in Manila.

Recently public interest has spiked in Lolong’s story after a Reddit user posted a picture of the animal being poked with a stick.

‘Lolong’ was the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity. He died because of ‘fungal infection’ and ‘stress’ two years after being captured. from interestingasfuck

This raised questions about how the animal was treated and if this could have led to such a seemingly sudden death. A Reddit user pointed out just how fantastic crocodile’s immune systems are and how they can live in filthy water and be fine.

“Even more depressing when you realize just how incredible a crocodile’s immune system is. They can live in really nasty water and be fine. The level of filth they must have had this one in for it to die from an infection… it must have been literally sitting in its own s*** for 2 years.”

While another user said,

“He ate two people which is why they hunted and captured him. At least they didn’t kill him outright which often happens with animals suspected of preying on people.”

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