Alabama Boys Catch a Gigantic Alligator the Size of a Grand Piano

Mobile Bay, AL is no stranger when it comes to alligators. Every year, people from all over the area flock at the beginning of gator-hunting season in hopes of catching a big one. A gigantic alligator measuring over 12 feet long was captured by Taylor Douglas and his friends. The alligator measured just shy of 13 feet. 

Marianne Gauldin of the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division says the ancient reptile weighs 524 pounds! She claimed that it was the biggest alligator thus far in the 2023 hunting season.

The young men mention that the alligator didn’t put up as much of a fight as they expected. For a gator that big, you’d expect them to pull their weight.  From the moment he was caught until he was killed, it took them about an hour. The most difficult task was getting the gator’s body onto the boat.

When Is Alligator Hunting Season in Alabama?

The only people who are eligible to submit an application for an alligator harvest permit in the state are Alabama citizens and those who have lifetime hunting licenses and are at least 16 years old. 

Non-residents are allowed to take part, however only as an aid during the alligator hunt. Registration is free, but obtaining a Resident Alligator Harvest Permit costs $250. Every year, registration typically begins in early June. Hunting season varies by which part of Alabama you plan on hunting in. 

There are a plethora of rules and regulations in place to ensure that these animals are hunted in a specific way. In the early 1920s, alligators in Alabama were nearly extinct. They became protected and eventually were thriving again, leading the state to regulate hunting to this day.

The Biggest Alligator Ever Caught

In 2014, Mandy Stokes and her family lawfully captured the largest alligator recorded  in Alabama. Stokes and her group caught a monstrous gator that was 15 feet long and weighed over 1,000 pounds! 

The gigantic alligator was dragged from the Alabama River and taken to a registration area at a nearby state park. It was so large that the hoisting device was destroyed when attempting to lift the ancient animal. 

The hunting party from Thomaston, AL, fought the alligator for over five hours and even attempted to shoot it, which just enraged it. The largest alligator ever caught in the United States weighed 1,043 pounds – just 32 pounds more than this one!