Current:Home > MyMassive 920-pound alligator caught in Central Florida: 'We were just in awe' -Excel Wealth Summit
Massive 920-pound alligator caught in Central Florida: 'We were just in awe'
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-08 04:06:07
A Central Florida alligator hunting guide made a catch of a lifetime, bringing in a gator that weighed a whopping 920 pounds and measured 13 feet 3 ¼ inches long, he said.
Kevin Brotz runs Florida Gator Hunting as a guide and charter captain with more two decades of gator hunting experience. As he explained it to USA TODAY, he was out on a fun hunt with two friends when he spotted the beast that would take four hours to capture.
He explained that by Florida state law, you have to "connect" with the alligator before killing it. In other words, they had to get a hook and direct line in it before using a bang stick to shoot it.
They had been hunting the alligator for almost an hour before it surfaced for the first time. It wasn't until then that they knew what they were dealing with.
“We were just in awe," he said. "I've harvested close to 1,0000 gators, this was like nothing I had seen before."
He said that safety was a big concern, as they were fighting with the near half-ton gator in a small boat, even though they usually use bigger boats for guides.
"All he had to do was turn his head and he could get in the boat," he said.
When they finally had the hook and line in him, they had to shoot him five times to kill him.
'A giant dinosaur'
Brotz told WESH 2 in an interview that his hunting buddies Carson Gore and Darren Field were key to making the catch safely.
“I laid down in the front of the boat and said, ‘Alright, I have to lay down until we get back,’ because I thought I was going to die. That thing was huge,” Gore added in the TV interview.
"When we saw this gator, it was way bigger than anything we've ever caught before,” Field told WESH 2. “It was a giant dinosaur. Not every day you get a giant dinosaur in your boat.”
Their catch could be the second-heaviest ever harvested in the state, they said.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website, the Florida state record for alligator length is 14 feet, 3½ inches; the record for weight is 1,043 pounds.
A spokesperson with the FWC confirmed that, per their records, 920 pounds would be the second heaviest alligator on state record. However, the hunters did not certify the measurements with the state before processing it.
Brotz said he killed the gator to maintain the population and uses tags as part of the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program, which allocates quotas to ensure a sustainable resource use. He said that the alligator yielded 130 pounds of meat that he is sharing with friends and family. As for the rest of gator, it will be made into a full body mount for Brotz to hang on his wall.
He said that he has always honored the animals, but this "surreal" experience was "totally humbling."
"I'm thankful we're not really on their menu. At the same time we have to be cautious," Brotz said. "It puts it in perspective."
veryGood! (798)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- 'Oppenheimer' producer and director Christopher Nolan scores big at the 2024 PGA Awards
- Military families brace for another government shutdown deadline
- Bill supporting development of nuclear energy powers to pass in Kentucky Senate
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Biden calls meeting with congressional leaders as shutdown threat grows
- Barrage of gunfire as officers confront Houston megachurch shooter, released body cam footage shows
- Duke coach Jon Scheyer calls on ACC to address court storming after Kyle Filipowski injury
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- App stop working? Here's how to easily force quit on your Mac or iPhone
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Man is shot and killed on a light rail train in Seattle, and suspect remains on the loose
- Biden is traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, according to AP sources
- Air Force member has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in DC
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Virginia couple missing in Grenada and feared killed after yacht allegedly stolen by escaped criminals
- Magnitude 4.9 earthquake shakes Idaho, but no injuries reported
- Shadowbanned? How to check if Instagram has muted you and what you can do about it
Recommendation
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Sophia Grace Will Have Your Heartbeat Runnin' Away With Son River's First Birthday Party
West Virginia medical professionals condemn bill that prohibits care to at-risk transgender youth
Primary apathy in Michigan: Democrats, GOP struggle as supporters mull whether to even vote
California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
How The Underground Railroad Got Its Name
Meet Grace Beyer, the small-school scoring phenom Iowa star Caitlin Clark might never catch
Primary apathy in Michigan: Democrats, GOP struggle as supporters mull whether to even vote