A massive alligator weighing 920 pounds and spanning 13 feet long has been found in Florida, setting the record for the second heaviest ever caught in the state.
920-Pound Alligator Found in Florida
The enormous reptile could be roughly 60 to 90 years old. When it was hauled on August 26, it was found to span over 13 feet, or 4 meters long.
The discovery came when Kevin Brotz, the US Coast Guard Captain and a hunting guide from Get Bit Outdoors and Florida Gator Hunting, went out with friends at a lake close to Orlando. It was then that they noticed a massive alligator swimming away from where they were.
The group spent roughly four hours battling with the massive creature. At a certain point, the alligator leapt out of water at around three to four feet, or 0.9 to 1.2 meters. The creature appeared like a blue whale when it breached.
After they were able to successfully pull out the alligator, they then killed the creature and brought it ashore. There the alligator was measured and weighed a whopping 13.06 feet and 920 pounds, or 417 kilograms, respectively.
This alligator is now the second heaviest that has ever been caught within the state. The record-holder for the heaviest one was found in 1989 and weighed 1,043 pounds, or 473 kilograms.
Brotz explains that it is extraordinarily rare to catch alligators this massive, expressing how he has joined hundreds of alligator hunts and yet none is at par with this recent one.
Shortly before this catch, Brotz also captured an 802-pound or 364-kilogram alligator in Mississippi. It spanned 14 feet and 3 inches. This one counts as the longest one ever found in Mississippi. The creature was killed as part of the 10-day alligator hunting season of the state.
Hunter Kevin Brotz with Florida Gator Hunting / Get Bit Outdoors shares how he led a hunt to reel in a 920-pound alligator in Orlando, Florida. WATCH: https://bit.ly/3qTYm9S ( Kevin Brotz and Aaron Love) Posted by FOX 35 Orlando on Thursday, September 7, 2023
Alligators in Florida
In Florida, around 1.3 million alligators are being housed. This 920-pound alligator was killed as part of the statewide alligator harvest program. This project has been effective since 1998 and aids with managing the population of the creatures. The management program focuses on alligator population conservation for their ecological, economical, and aesthetic value while simultaneously providing for public safety and use.
Alligator hunting season typically runs from August to November. In order to legally take alligators, proper permits and licenses are necessary. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues roughly 7,000 permits each year as part of the said statewide alligator harvest program. Each permit authorizes the holder to harvest two alligators.
Last year, 7,804 alligators were killed under the said program.
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