NATCHEZ, Miss. (WSVN) — A group of alligator hunters broke a Mississippi state record after they captured an alligator measuring nearly 15 feet long.
According to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the 14.75-foot gator was captured near Natchez.
Officials certified it as the “longest male alligator taken by a permitted hunter in Mississippi.”
This alligator beat the previous record-holding gator by half an inch.
According to the MDWFP, the alligator weighed 766.5 pounds, the belly girth was 69 inches and the tail girth was 43 inches.
According to Fox 13, the gator was caught in the middle of alligator hunting season, which runs from Aug. 25 to Sept. 4. Hunting without a permit is prohibited and the event is meant to help control the gator population.
Nearly 1,000 people in the state were issued permits for the annual alligator hunt, which began in 2005 when the alligator population became overwhelming after it was removed from the Endangered Species List.
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