FISHERMEN in Malaysia believe that they’ve found the world’s largest crocodile – claiming that it could beat the previous Guinness World Record holder.
One Malaysian fisherman shared the footage of the gigantic saltwater crocodile in an area of mangroves in Malaysia to his TikTok account.
TikTokThe gigantic crocodile can be seen lurking in the clearing of some mangroves[/caption]
TikTokThe fishermen spotted it in the region of Bunawan in the Philippines[/caption]
He captioned it “Biggest crocodile ever seen caught on camera 18/09/2023 in Kuching, Sarawak, MY. Imo could beat Lolong’s record.”
Lolong was a saltwater crocodile that was captured in the region of Bunawan, Philippines after it ate a fisherman in 2011.
At the time of capture, Lolong measured 20.24-feet and weighed a whopping 2,370 pounds.
Although it died in captivity a decade ago, it has retained the Guinness World Record for the longest crocodile ever measured.
The previous world record-holder was a 17.97-foot long saltwater crocodile caught in Australia.
The fisherman’s TikTok footage of the new “world’s largest” crocodile has now amassed 1.9 million views, and over 700 comments since being posted.
Although a handful of users agreed that the beast was one of the largest crocodiles to have been spotted, the vast majority have been more sceptical.
One user wrote: “Nah, that’s a lizard compared to lolong.”
Another said: “Lo longs dwarf twin would devour this croc for breakfast lunch and dinner, this thing is big but not almost 30 feet long.”
While a third joked: “Thats a baby. Habibi come to Australia!”
One Australian swamp in particular, the Adelaide River, near Darwin in the Northern Territory, is home to some of the world’s biggest crocodiles with one measuring 20ft-long.
These gigantic beasts have been known to rip their prey to pieces with their powerful jaws – and have even attacked humans on tour boats.
Some of the man-eating crocs have even startled tourists by jumping out of the water when guides dangle snacks on long poles from tourists vessels.
The largest male in the area has been dubbed Dominator, he measures around 20ft, and has had jaw-dropping fights with his 18ft-long rival Brutus.
Two years ago, wildlife operator Sam Dearly, 62, nearly lost his hand when he was attacked by one of the huge reptiles.
Sam was with 18 tourists when he reached into the water to retrieve one of the feeding poles he had dropped in the water.
He told 9News: “I’ve lifted a crocodile up and I’ve gone ‘my God what have I got here?’
“And I’m thinking ‘what are we going to do about this? It’s hanging off my arm.’”
He added: “Its my own fault. I just did something that was probably complacency.”
Luckily, Sam escaped largely unscathed.
As the crocodile went to bite him again, it released its grip and gave Sam the chance to pull his arm away.
He later underwent surgery to repair a severed tendon in his hand.
20ft crocodile Dominator in the Adelaide RiverCaters News Agency
Brutus and Dominator have been known to fight