A 21-foot crocodile has been caught in the Philippines, authorities said Tuesday.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the 6.4-metre reptile was found Saturday in the remote village of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur Province. It weighed 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilograms) and is estimated to be more than 50 years old, AFP reported.

Josefina de Leon, wildlife division chief of the DENR's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said the crocodile is suspected of having eaten a farmer who was declared missing in July. The same animal bit off the head of a 12-year-old girl in the same village in 2009, she said.

De Leon said the crocodile appears to be the largest captured since the Guinness Book of Records showed the recordholder caught in Australia was 17 feet, 11.75 inches (5.48 metres) long.

A team from the government-run crocodile breeding farm had been baiting the reptile since Aug. 15 with chicken, pork and dog meat, but it only bit the meat and the line. What finally led to the crocodile's capture was a 0.31-inch (8 millimetres) metal cable used to lock its jaw.

The animal was captured on Saturday with the assistance of 30 local men. The local government said it will use the reptile as the main attraction for a nature park it is planning in the area.

The Philippine freshwater crocodile is considered an endangered species in the country with only 250 known to be in the wild. But there are 1,000 saltwater crocodiles - the Crocodylus porosus - in the Philippines, which includes the newly capture reptile.