By The newspaper
Aug 28, 2023, 21:43 PM EDT
A group of hunters captured a 14-foot-long reptile, breaking the state record for longest alligator, according to a post shared by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP).
The members of the group, identified as Tanner White, Don Woods, Will Thomas and Joey Clark, were congratulated by the MDWFP on their Facebook account.
Hunters encountered the male reptile in the West Central Hunting Zone last Saturday, just a day after alligator hunting season opened in Mississippi, according to the department.
When the massive, record-breaking alligator was captured, it measured 14 feet 3 inches, “with a belly circumference of 66 inches and a tail circumference of 46.5 inches,” the department wrote, and also weighed 802 ,5 pounds.
The title of longest male alligator taken by a licensed hunter in Mississippi was previously held by an alligator captured on August 28, 2017.
The usurped alligator, which was just over 2 inches smaller than the new title holder, was caught near the new huge reptile.
“The alligator’s length was 14 feet ¾ inch, which beat the previous record by ½ inch,” the department announced in a 2017 news release. “The alligator weighed 766.5 pounds. The belly circumference was 69 inches and the tail circumference was 43 inches.
It should be noted that the first public alligator sport hunting season in Mississippi occurred in 2005, according to the MDWFP. “While alligators normally avoid humans and human activity, they occasionally cause conflict with humans,” the department says in its explanation of the alligator program.
“Young alligators often disperse to new territories in late spring and early summer,” the agency added. “During this dispersal, they are occasionally found in unusual places close to human development, such as; agricultural ponds, road ditches, highways and parking lots”.
In addition, the department clarifies that “it is illegal and very dangerous for the public to capture, remove or kill an alligator without special permission from the MDWFP.”
“As human development (residential and commercial) continues to encroach on more rural areas of the state, increased interaction and conflict with wildlife is possible,” the department says.
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