A saltwater crocodile that could be the world's largest in captivity has not eaten for six days since being captured in a creek in the southern Philippines.

Wildlife official Ronnie Sumiller, who led the hunt for the 20-foot (6.1 metre) crocodile, nicknamed Lolong, said the reptile was under close observation for signs of stress.

He said it was normal for crocodiles to be stressed after being trapped and handled. Even in the wild, they do not normally eat daily, and a crocodile as huge as Lolong can go without food for up to six months.

Lolong has been placed in an 800-square metre pen, secured by concrete walls topped with wire in Bunawan township, where he was caught last weekend.

"We came here to take a look, because it was reported that on the first few days of his capture … there were big crowds and some would throw stones to make him move, so we were afraid he might become stressed," Theresa Mundita Lim, the director of the government's Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau, said.

She flew from the capital to the southern Agusan del Sur province to talk to local officials about guidelines for onlookers and to inspect the crocodile's new home.

The Bunawan mayor, Edwin Cox Elorde, said Lolong did not budge when a dead chicken was laid nearby to whet his appetite.

He said that although officials had tried to restrict the public viewing of the crocodile, small groups of visitors who travelled long distances had pleaded to be allowed to see the reptile.

Lolong is estimated to be at least 50 years old, and wildlife officials were trying to confirm whether it was the largest such catch in the world, Lim said.

The crocodile was caught after a three-week hunt, easing some fears among the locals. A child was killed in the same township by a crocodile two years ago, and Lolong had been suspected of killing a fisherman who has been missing since July.

But Sumiller said he had found no human remains when he induced Lolong to vomit. Another search was being arranged for a possibly larger crocodile that he and residents had seen in the town's marshy outskirts.