In general, I’m not a big fan of trophy hunting. My definition of trophy hunting is when a hunter kills an animal just to get the macho “man conquers beast” picture with no intention of actually eating the animal. When I see “the remains were donated to a local food bank,” my BS meter goes off. But I understand that there are exceptions. On game preserves, there is a certain give and take that allows trophy hunters to kill an animal for a fee. The preserve selectively picks a certain animal to cull and the income generated from the practice funds the preserve’s efforts.
Another exception is when the hunt is highly regulated. Gator hunting in Mississippi is a good example. Hunting is limited to residents and licenses are issued on a lottery basis. If the hunters happen to take a really big gator, then good on them.
This year, some record size gators have been taken. Find out how just how big they were in this article from the Daily Mail.
Mississippi’s state record for the heaviest and longest alligator has been broken once again — less than a week after the previous records were smashed.
Beth Trammell of Madison took the title for Mississippi’s heaviest alligator with her 723.5-pound harvest, only to be bested an hour later by Dustin Bockman of Vicksburg with his massive 727-pound beast.
But this weekend, a new state record was captured by hunter Dalco Turner of Gluckstadt.
According to unofficial measurements, the gator was 13-feet, 7-inches — ever so slightly longer than the current record. Then came time for the weigh-in — 741.5 pounds.
Gatorslayers Turner, John Ratcliff of Canton, Jennifer Ratcliff of Canton and Jimmy Greer of Canton have now claimed the new state record for the heaviest male alligator.
‘It was around midnight when we initially saw this one,’ said Mr Turner to The Clarion-Ledger. ‘We passed it by the first time. We really didn’t think he was big enough to go after.’ After drifting on a little way, the team turned around but saw the gator for a second time. It was a battle between the alligator and the team.
Photos: AP (top); Dustin Brockman (above)
