Officials in a Philippine city said they are moving to have the world's largest captive crocodile posthumously declared a local hero.

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Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde said town councilors agreed Monday to draft legislation that would have Lolong, a 20.2-foot-long crocodile that held the title of the world's largest captive crocodile until his death Sunday night, declared a local hero, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Tuesday.

"We agreed to honor him as a hero through local ordinance so that such legislative move will be permanent," Elorde said.

Elorde said locals came to think of the animal, captured in the Agusan Marsh, as an "adopted son."