A massive alligator was recently tracked down by hunters at Outwest farms in Okeechobee, Florida.
Lee Lightsey, Outwest Farms owner and his son Mason, his guide Blake Godwin and two hunters discovered the creature at one of the ponds on their private ranch.
"We were on a hunt for hogs and happened to come across the gator. There are natural ponds and waterways around for the cows to drink," Godwin said.
"There are lots of gators out there. It's the start of mating season. This was a big one," Lightsey said.
Opining it as the big one, Lightsey said that it weighed in at 780 pounds. Mason said that, he estimated it was "almost probably close to 15 feet."
Giving least concern to records, Lightsey said, “It's just fun to see a great day for the hunters, the big ones like that are exciting for the hunters.”
As 9 year old Mason previously experienced these hunting trips, he said that he was “not scary at all” to hunt huge alligator. Proving it, he even posed next to the animal for a picture, which went viral on facebook.
Responding to the netizens, who opined that, the photo was duplicate, Godwin said, “There's a lot of folks saying that, but it's 100% real. I took that picture (referring to the photo of Mason laying on the alligator), the photo is real.”
In Florida, especially American alligators are common and can range from 10 to 15 feet long. They live in freshwater environments, such as ponds, marshes and rivers.
14 feet, 3 1/2 inches alligator, was the largest one, found till date, and has a state record in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee. Reportedly, it weighed in at 654 pounds but is not the heaviest on record. The record holder in Florida for weight is 1,043 pounds.
Since 18 years, Outwest Farms has been in business and specializes in alligator and wild boar hunts. As specified in its website, a hunt for a 13-feet-long gator will cost you $10,000.
So what happens to the gator? Taxidermy, Lightsey says. Any meat that the hunter doesn't take will be donated to charity.
By Phani Ch
