Alligators live in the southeastern U.S. in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and parts of North Carolina and Tennessee. These large reptiles inhabit swamps, marshes, ponds, rivers, lakes, and occasionally even golf courses. An average adult male alligator is 10-12 feet long and weighs 400-500 pounds. Females are closer to 8 feet long and weigh around 200 pounds. But how big was the biggest alligator ever found in South Carolina? Let’s find out!
How Big Was the Biggest Alligator Ever Found in South Carolina?
The state of South Carolina does not keep official records of harvested alligators. However, most sources indicate the biggest alligator ever found in South Carolina is a 13-foot 6-inch gator that weighed an incredible 1,025 pounds. It was caught by Maryellen Mara-Christian of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, an experienced big game hunter. Ms. Mara-Christian and her husband encountered this massive alligator during a guided hunt on Lake Moultrie, a lake known for having some of the largest gators in the state.
On September 15, 2010, they located the massive gator. After a two-hour struggle, the hunting party was able to subdue and retrieve the alligator. Because the gator had so much fat, the couple only got 40 pounds of edible meat from the carcass. They left the body with a taxidermist so their remarkable catch could be mounted and displayed.
Contender for the Longest Gator Caught in South Carolina
Some of the biggest gators in South Carolina inhabit Lake Moultrie.
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A September 20, 2020 Facebook post from Cordray’s Processing and Taxidermy shows a massive alligator caught by hunter Aaryn Folden and his crew. It measured 13 feet 9 inches long and weighed 758 pounds. According to the post, the gator was caught in Lake Moultrie in Pinopolis. The post noted that it was the biggest gator the company had seen in several years. While this gator was 3 inches longer than Ms. Mara-Christian’s, her gator outweighed this contender by 267 pounds.
SCDNR gator harvest reports indicate that 12- to 13-foot gators have been harvested yearly since at least 2008. The Alligator Hunting Season Report for 2024 listed four alligators in the 13-foot range. However, the charts do not provide more detailed data on length and weight.
Who Can Hunt Alligators in South Carolina?
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources runs the alligator hunting program in the state.
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In 2025, South Carolina issued over 1,000 alligator tags, including 400 new slot-restricted tags for smaller alligators. Because the demand for these tags is so high, there is a yearly lottery to determine who receives one. Applicants must be 16 years of age or older, and both residents and non-residents are eligible. However, there is an additional fee for non-residents. If chosen, you must have a South Carolina hunting license.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) runs the alligator hunting program, and they monitor the number of alligators in each zone. South Carolina is divided into four hunting zones, plus an area in the northwest part of the state where there is no hunting season. Visit the SCDNR website to download their guide to hunting gators in South Carolina.
