Although we aren't hunters here at Huntsville Outdoors, we are certainly gator watchers, and we were pretty interested to read this weekend about the 795-pound gator hauled in by a few Birmingham-area wranglers during the recent alligator hunting season.
What's more impressive about this catch, though, is the fact that we now have enough gators in Alabama for limited, annual tag-hunts. This is thanks in large part to the efforts of the federal government and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. As this piece in The Birmingham News notes, there was a time when alligators in Alabama were almost a thing of the past.
Of course, 795-pounds is a little on the big side for a North Alabama gator. Up here, most of the large gators are more on the order of 8-10 feet and 200 or so pounds, but there are rumors of a 14-foot gator on Redstone Arsenal -- nicknamed "Stumpy" due to the fact that he is missing a part of his tail. If you ever run across Stumpy, we'd love to see some pictures. In the meantime, enjoy the photos in the article above.
