In the deep south, Alligator hunting is a serious business.
Mississippi is one of the top states for alligator hunting.
But you won’t believe the size of this record-breaking alligator recently caught in Mississippi.
Four alligator hunters in Mississippi have broken the state’s record by snagging a reptile that weighed in at over 800 pounds and measured 14 feet in length.
A new record
Tanner White of Flora, Don Woods of Oxford, Will Thomas of Madison, and Joey Clark of Jackson bagged their record-breaking alligator in Mississippi’s West Central Alligator Hunting Zone.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) has now recognized the haul as the Magnolia State’s new record for the longest harvested male alligator.
“He measured 14 feet and 3 inches long, with a belly girth of 66 inches and tail girth of 46.5 inches. He weighed 802.5 lbs,” the MDWFP wrote in an announcement on Facebook.
The record-breaking alligator brought instant fame to the four men.
Will Thomas recently joined Fox & Friends to discuss the alligator he and his fellow hunters caught using their rod and reels.
The group decided to go gator hunting in the Yazoo River in the evening of Friday, August 25.
We knew he was big
According to Thomas, it took them seven hours to land the 14-foot beast once they hooked the gator.
“We saw him early in the evening,” Thomas said. “We didn’t know about him previously,” he continued, before adding that “we knew we were in a good spot, and so, we kind of scouted before it got dark.”
“One of the team members, Joey Clark, was the first to spot this alligator. And we knew he was at least 12 feet,” Thomas explained. “But it was not until much later the next morning that we realized that he could be potentially a state record.”
Thomas told Fox & Friends that he’s not sure how old the alligator was before they harvested it, but he would guess it was at least 40 years old.
The alligator was taken to Red Antler Processing in Yazoo City, Mississippi, on Saturday.
Photos of the record-breaking alligator show the reptile’s head appears to be as big as a man’s entire torso.
“A lot of leather”
Thomas and his hunting companions donated the alligator meat to Mississippi’s government.
Mississippi will prepare the meat and then distribute it at food shelters in the state.
“I think 380 pounds of meat got donated,” Thomas said during his interview with Fox & Friends.
Given the reptile’s size, Thomas added that he suspects the alligator will result in ”a lot of leather.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do with it, but I’m sure everybody on the team and the family will get something so bad,” he said.
Thomas explained that alligator hunting is a wildly popular activity for Mississippi sportsmen.
He said he enjoys the “adrenaline rush.”
“It’s just kind of the culture down here – to get out and do this kind of thing,” Thomas said. “And we’re certainly not the only ones that do it, and probably not the best at it, but there’s a lot of people here that do this, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Deplorable Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
