The world's largest salt water crocodile in captivity is in the Philippines, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, edging out the one being kept in Australia.

The organisation identified the monstrous beast as Lolong, which was captured in 2011 in the Agusan Marsh, located hundreds of kilometres south of the Philippine capital Manila.

"The largest crocodile in captivity is Lolong, a saltwater crocodile (crocodylus porosus), who measured 6.17 metres (approximately 20.24 feet)," Guinness was reported by Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying on its official Web site.

In the statement posted by the group on Sunday, the man-eating crocodile is said to weigh more than a tonne, easily beating out Australia's Cassius, which measured some 17 feet and carried heft of no more than one tonne.

The Australian croc, according to AFP, was captured in the Northern Territory region in 1984 and is being kept in a crocodile island park near Queensland.

Agusan authorities said Lolong first hit the local headlines last year when the death of a young girl was attributed to an enormous crocodiles that witnesses said prowled the area to hunt for preys.

Missing livestock and a vanished fisherman were also blamed to the giant croc, which was eventually captured September last year in Bunawan, one of the municipalities in the Agusan del Sur province, following a hunt campaign launched by locals that lasted more than three years.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde greeted the Guinness recognition with glee as it proved "the rich biodiversity of our place."

Fears, however, still grip the residents in the area as speculations remain that another croc, reportedly bigger than Lolong, still roam the marsh.

The town chief confirmed that another beast escaped during the efforts to capture Lolong, who was named after a town official who died while participating in the crocodile hunt that netted the gigantic reptile.

Lolong is presently kept in a park maintained by the Bunawan local government and has become a tourist attraction.

Mr Elorde told AP that since his arrival, Lolong has generated some $US72,000 from the minimal entrance fees collected from tourists wishing to see and from which the town has been drawing money to finance his food and maintenance requirements.

A town official added that the crocodile "has already adapted to his new environment," and appears to be unmindful of the numerous visitors that were being regularly lured into the park.

"(Lolong) remains a big tourist attraction ... and hundreds of people visit him in a day," the official told AFP.

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