Hunters kill a 524-pound alligator in Alabama. Then they had to get it in the boat

An alligator nearly 13 feet long was among the first casualties in Alabama’s annual alligator harvest, and the hunting party learned an important lesson.

The toughest part of harvesting an alligator that big is getting it in the boat.

“It took us roughly one hour from the time he was hooked until the time he was dispatched,” Taylor Douglas told WKRG.

“The biggest struggle was trying to get his body in the boat. Three Game Wardens were on a boat next to us and got to watch the entire fight.”

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division officials say their alligator, which they killed near the coast, was 12 feet, 9 inches long and weighed 524 pounds.

It’s one of at least three alligators harvested this month that topped 12 feet, the state reports.

A 12-foot, 3.5-inch alligator (518 pounds) was killed in the Mobile River, and a 12-foot, 3-inch gator (491 pounds) was caught in the Alabama River, the state says.

While massive, none of these count as a record. In 2014, a woman named Mandy Stokes fought a 15-foot, 9-inch alligator in the Alabama River for five hours, and eventually shot it, according to Auburn University. It remains the hunt’s record at a whopping 1,011.5 pounds, the university says.

Alabama’s hunt is held each year to help control the alligator population and allows for only 260 permits in five Alligator Management Areas. The hunts in each area are staggered over August and September.

This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Hunters kill a 524-pound alligator in Alabama. Then they had to get it in the boat."