World Record Gator Goes Public

Public concern about alligator populations in the previous century lead to conservation practices to support the species. Boy, did they work!

The range of the American alligator has increased, and their number and size now warrant regular hunting seasons.

One Alabama family took up the quest and netted a swamp monster that topped 1,000 lbs. That’s right. Half a ton. The monstrous reptile has been fully mounted and will go on display later this spring. Here are the details.

When Mandy Stokes and her husband, John, decided to try their luck in the annual statewide American alligator hunt, she had no idea that August night would go down in history. The Stokes, along with brother-in-law Kevin Jenkins and his children Savannah and Parker, hauled in a 15-foot-9-inch gator that weighed 1,011.5 lbs. from the Alabama River near Camden in Wilcox County. That massive gator, certified by the Safari Club International as the largest ever taken, will be on display for the first time on May 22 at the Mann Wildlife Learning Museum at the Montgomery Zoo.

The Stokes family has a Facebook page dedicated to the gator with many impressive pictures. Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/thestokesgator/photos_stream.

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