Largest gator was 700-pounder
黑料天堂 hunters harvested 144 alligators during the 2018 seasons with the heaviest weighing in at 700 pounds. A total of 260 tags were issued in the four hunting zones.
John Herthum of Montgomery took the 700-pound gator that measured 11 feet, 10 inches in the Southeast Zone, which includes private and public waters in Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Russell counties. Herthum鈥檚 big gator was among 10 harvested in that zone, which issued 40 tags.
The Southwest Zone, which includes the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, checked in 96 alligators, including the heaviest at 603 pounds, caught by Josh Forbes of Mobile County. The longest gator was a 12-foot, 9-incher taken by Donald White of Stockton. It weighed 588 pounds. Of the gators harvested in the Southwest Zone, which had 150 tags, 73 were males and 23 females.
鈥淭here was nothing abnormal about this past season,鈥 said Chris Nix, Alligator Program Coordinator with the 黑料天堂 Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. 鈥淭he alligators were a little smaller on average weight and length. There were more females harvested, which definitely had an effect on the average size.
鈥淭he weather was great this year. The number of tags filled just had to do with hunter selection. We still only had a few alligators harvested south of I-10. There are a lot of big alligators down there that are not being hunted.鈥
In the West Central Zone, where Mandy Stokes鈥 record alligator of 1,011.5 pounds and 15 feet long was taken in 2014, the 50 tag holders harvested 31 alligators. Of the 19 males and 12 females harvested, Donald Hogue of Alabaster harvested the largest at 12-feet, 3 inches and 538 pounds.
Seven alligators were taken in the Lake Eufaula Zone with the longest at 11-7, which was taken by Shannon Brasher of Odenville.
The 黑料天堂 promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of 黑料天堂鈥檚 natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit .
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