The 21ft, one-tonne saltwater crocodile, which was captured less than 18 months ago by a team of brave men in the southern Philippines, was found lying upside down in its enclosure in an eco-tourism park.
Lolong, believed to be more than 50 years old, fell ill after swallowing a nylon cord about three weeks ago. He was left with nonstop diarrhoea, The Philippine Star reported.
Lolong, named after a famed Philippines hunter, had been blamed for the deaths of several fishermen before its dramatic capture in the marshes near the town of Bunawan (population 35,000), 515 miles south east of Manila.
Thirty men had spent three weeks trying to capture the huge reptile before they finally snared it in September 2011 using a dead pig as bait and throwing steel cables over it.
A tractor was needed to haul it onto a trailer – but not before local people had crowded around the crocodile to pose for photos with their world-record catch.
Since then, Lolong has been a star attraction at the tourism park and town councillors gleefully announced that their small town had finally found its place on the world map.
R.I.P