It’s been a little while since Mississippi, the Magnolia state, made the national news. This time, it goes hand-in-hand with the opening of alligator season in the state. Since 2005, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has allowed hunting of alligators within season limits with a valid permit. The permit allows each hunter to bag two alligators over four feet long, only one of which may exceed 7 feet long each season. The season is from noon on August 25th until noon on September 4th, 2023. Hunting on private lands continues until September 18th.
Conservation
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Many of us may not like hunting, but it is vital to keep animal populations within healthy limits. With an overabundance of alligators, cannibalism will occur more frequently, and Mississippi will see more problem alligators euthanized after they make their way hungrily toward humans and pets. Indeed, they were here first, but there is little we can do about the fact that we must share the land with them. No one likes to read stories where pets, children, and adults fall victim to alligators desperately seeking a meal because they cannot do so naturally.
The Story of One Massive Alligator
Just after nightfall on August 25th, 2023, opening day for alligator hunting throughout Mississippi, Donald Woods and three friends climbed in their boat and headed out on the Yazoo River. Little did they know what the day had in store for them or that they would soon encounter the largest alligator Mississippi had ever recorded.
After seeing many smaller alligators, the three continued hunting until they found exactly what they were looking for. Woods stated they had killed plenty of 12-foot alligators in previous seasons and hoped to find another large adult. “We knew he was wide,” Woods said. “His back was humongous. It was like we were following a jon boat,” said Woods to the Clarion Ledger, a Mississippi newspaper.
At 9 p.m., they finally got a hook in the huge beast and would spend the next seven hours fighting with him and dealing with broken lines, a broken fishing pole, and plenty of mishaps. By 4 a.m., the four men had the alligator in the boat, and the fight had ended. Once they could finally measure the alligator, it came to 14 feet 3 inches long and weighed 802 pounds. The previous record of 14 feet and 3/4 inches is in the past.
