We’ve all heard that stress is a killer, but it seems this psychological phenomenon extends to the animal kingdom. A 20-foot saltwater giant crocodile, nicknamed Lolong, has been captured in the Philippines and hasn’t eaten since.

The creature could be the world’s largest crocodile in captivity – but according to the wildlife experts that captured him, this behaviour is normal for reptiles as they adapt to a different lifestyle than they’re used to.

Wild crocodiles will rarely eat daily and can survive without food for a while. In Lolong’s case, this could be for a period of up to six months due to his size and natural food reserves. Experts estimate that he is about 50-years old.

Living in an 800-square metre pen surrounded by a barbed wire enforced concrete wall in Bunawan (where he was captured), local officials are wary to put Lolong on public display to avoid any additional stress.

Locals have rightly been quite worried about Lolong for a while and his capture brings to an end a three-week hunt to find him. A young child had been killed by a crocodile two years ago and Lolong is suspected to have killed a missing fisherman, although no human remains were recovered when he was induced to vomit.

Word is there may be an even larger crocodile living in the local area, but we hope they can bring the saga to a snappy conclusion.