Monster hunters: Record 71-stone alligator caught in Alabama
A group of Alabama hunters is celebrating the catch of a lifetime – a 15ft-long alligator weighing more than 71 stone.
The monster alligator was pulled from the water in south Alabama early on Saturday after a four-hour fight, during the US state’s alligator hunting season.
Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries biologists were able to measure the alligator at 15ft, but weighing it posed a challenge.
The first attempt completely destroyed a winch assembly used to hoist most average alligators. So they had to use a digger to lift the animal. It weighed in at 1,011.5lb, or 71.4 stone.
The alligator is the largest ever legally killed by an Alabama hunter, and may be the largest ever killed in the US.
It was caught by Mandy and John Stokes, as well as Kevin Jenkins and his children, 16-year-old Savannah and 14-year-old Parker.
Read the complete story of the hunt
Alligators are a protected species in Alabama but as in other US states, authorities grant licences for a small number of hunts every August, saying it is important to control populations in areas where they pose a nuisance.
The animals are hunted using a bow or rod and line for an initial hold, then drawn to the boat using snatch hooks, snared when close and despatched with a shotgun or rifle.
