FALSE: Video of large crocodile caught in Antipolo

At a glance

• Claim: A large crocodile, as seen on a truck, was caught in Antipolo.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The crocodile is an animatronic prop of a GMA network show named Lolong. 
• Why we fact-checked this: The post with this claim has over 59,600 reactions, 3,070 comments, and 1,600,000 views on TikTok, as of writing.

Complete details

A video posted on June 25 by TikTok user “@cyberushshield” claims that a large crocodile was caught in Antipolo and is carried by truck to several locations in Antipolo and in Metro Manila.

A line that says “Buhaya kasing laki ni Lolong nahuli sa Antipolo (Crocodile as big as Lolong caught in Antipolo” is superimposed on the video.

The post with this claim has over 59,600 reactions, 3,070 comments, and 1,600,000 views on TikTok, as of writing.

This claim is false.

According to a report by 24 Oras Weekend, the crocodile is an animatronic prop of a GMA network show named Lolong.

The animatronic prop is brought to several locations as part of a marketing stunt. The stunt was posted by GMA Public Affairs’ official Facebook page. 

The animated crocodile is designed to look like Lolong, a 20-foot crocodile captured from a creek in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, in 2011. 

The Guinness Book of World Records declared Lolong as the “World’s largest crocodile in captivity” in 2012, measuring 6.17 meters and weighing 1,075 kilograms. Lolong died in February 2013 due to pneumonia and cardiac arrest. 

Lolong was turned over to the National Museum in 2014 for taxidermy and is currently on display at the National Museum of National History’s The Hall of Philippine Biodiversity. His skeleton is installed in NMNH’s Ayala Hall. – Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com

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