That's a really big alligator
Gator killed on first day of hunting season
WALTON COUNTY — On the first day of hunting season, a local man harvested a 12-foot, 3-inch alligator — which will likely be among the largest killed in Florida this season.
The meat from the 360-pound gator has been vacuum packed, and the gator will be mounted for B.J. Etscheid, the Gulf Breeze man who helped bring it in.
Of course, there were official gator hunters giving him a hand. And the gator, which was caught in Choctawhatchee Bay, put up a good fight.
"We fought him for 45 minutes," said Tim Land, captain of Land and Sea Charters.
The gator was caught at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 15, the first day of week one of the permitted hunting season.
Catching a gator involves snatching it with a treble hook, pulling it closer to the boat, and then using a weighted hook to better control it. State law prohibits shooting gators or hitting them with a bang stick until they are subdued, Land said.
"We're seeing it on (the TV series) 'Swamp People,' where they shoot it and can't find it," he said, explaining why Floridian hunters aren't allowed to use guns. "Put a snare around his neck and he pretty much calms down."
They then tape the gator's mouth shut and wait until it's dead before they put it on the boat. The gator barely fit in their 20-foot boat.
Land said he caught the gator with the help of his hunting partner, Scott Bradley.
"There's going to be other 12-footers killed, but it's going to be in the top 20 alligators killed in the state," Land guessed.
He said it was the second biggest gator they've killed in the past eight years.
For more information on gator management and hunting, visit myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/managed/alligator.
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