Lizzard update......I lied!!!

bswiv · September 19, 2008, 07:59 PM

It turns out I was wrong about how big the gator was.

When they got around to measuring it and weighing it what we found out is that it is 13' 7" long and weighed 764 pounds..............and that was 24 hours after we caught it!

It was so big that the professional skinner did not skin it but instead called a couple of taxidermist that specialize in such. They wanted it because of it's unusual size so they can make one of those big mounts that you see sold for thousands of dollars.

Ended up that we got more for it whole than I could have rendered by cleaning it and selling the skin and meat in the market.

One other interesting thing I found. The following link is to the Florida FWC list of the largest gators harvested in the state sense 1977 when they started keeping records.

If this is correct our gator will be #7.

http://myfwc.com/GATORS/facts/largest.htm

And most likely the largest harvested during this years hunts..............

I wish I had realized how big it was when we caught it because I would have gotten better pictures! I'm not in one of them!

PT111 · September 20, 2008, 06:21 AM

We used to have a "pet" gator in our pond back behind our house. This was before it was legal to hunt gators in SC and he never did really bother anyone so I left him alone for the most part other than watching him. I contacted the wildlife department about him but they told me to forget that I had called them and take care of it myself.

Unless it was a danger they didn't have time to mess with it. I never would do anything because I knew he was close to a state record and sure did not want to kill a state record gator and not be able to report it.

Finally he disappeared so I figure he died of old age. If you have never seen a BIG gator up close you really don't realize how big they are.

That one you have there is a BIG GATOR.

New_Pollution1086 · September 20, 2008, 11:00 AM

That is an impressive pre-historic beast.

Nice job on making top ten.

T

SavageSniper · September 20, 2008, 10:32 PM

Nice lizard, that one is huge. Gonna take alot of cornmeal for that one!

B. Lahey · September 20, 2008, 10:52 PM

How old do you figure that one was? Is there any way to tell?

Seems like it would take a while for one to get that big.

PT111 · September 21, 2008, 07:20 AM

We had a batch of gators hatch in the spillway of our pond so they were confined. We coaught about 15 of them and moved them to different places but all were about 9" long which is normal for newborns. Gators grow at about 1 foot a year until they are fully grown which would be 10-12 feet for males. For one to reach more than that would be very hard to tell but there may be some growth rings on their body such as on turtles or other reptiles. Life exectancy is around 40 years.

One thing about gators is they will eat almost anything they can catch. They are not picky about their diet.

September 19, 2008, 07:59 PM	#1
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Lizzard update......I lied!!! It turns out I was wrong about how big the gator was. When they got around to measuring it and weighing it what we found out is that it is 13' 7" long and weighed 764 pounds..............and that was 24 hours after we caught it! It was so big that the professional skinner did not skin it but instead called a couple of taxidermist that specialize in such. They wanted it because of it's unusual size so they can make one of those big mounts that you see sold for thousands of dollars. Ended up that we got more for it whole than I could have rendered by cleaning it and selling the skin and meat in the market. One other interesting thing I found. The following link is to the Florida FWC list of the largest gators harvested in the state sense 1977 when they started keeping records. If this is correct our gator will be #7. http://myfwc.com/GATORS/facts/largest.htm And most likely the largest harvested during this years hunts.............. I wish I had realized how big it was when we caught it because I would have gotten better pictures! I'm not in one of them!

September 20, 2008, 06:21 AM	#2
PT111 Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2007 Posts: 1,041	We used to have a "pet" gator in our pond back behind our house. This was before it was legal to hunt gators in SC and he never did really bother anyone so I left him alone for the most part other than watching him. I contacted the wildlife department about him but they told me to forget that I had called them and take care of it myself. Unless it was a danger they didn't have time to mess with it. I never would do anything because I knew he was close to a state record and sure did not want to kill a state record gator and not be able to report it. Finally he disappeared so I figure he died of old age. If you have never seen a BIG gator up close you really don't realize how big they are. That one you have there is a BIG GATOR. Last edited by PT111; September 20, 2008 at 11:37 AM.

September 20, 2008, 11:00 AM	#3
New_Pollution1086 Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 2007 Location: WC - CA Posts: 680	That is an impressive pre-historic beast. Nice job on making top ten. T __________________ "I have ridden the mighty moon worm, and it was good" "Aim Big miss Big, Aim small Miss small" "Don't rush the monkey and you'll see a better show." - T. Boone Pickens

September 20, 2008, 10:32 PM	#4
SavageSniper Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2005 Location: Crawfordville, FL Posts: 494	Nice lizard, that one is huge. Gonna take alot of cornmeal for that one! __________________ This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights!

September 20, 2008, 10:52 PM	#5
B. Lahey Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,857	How old do you figure that one was? Is there any way to tell? Seems like it would take a while for one to get that big.

September 21, 2008, 07:20 AM	#6
PT111 Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2007 Posts: 1,041	We had a batch of gators hatch in the spillway of our pond so they were confined. We coaught about 15 of them and moved them to different places but all were about 9" long which is normal for newborns. Gators grow at about 1 foot a year until they are fully grown which would be 10-12 feet for males. For one to reach more than that would be very hard to tell but there may be some growth rings on their body such as on turtles or other reptiles. Life exectancy is around 40 years. One thing about gators is they will eat almost anything they can catch. They are not picky about their diet.