AWESOME!! This huge gator was trapped with BARE HANDS after months of tracking!
On Thursday, Mr. Kelley said he was delighted that he and Mr. Sziy had finally captured ‘Lumpy’ following months of tracking the beast at the spot in St John’s County.
‘He got close enough to where I guess he couldn’t withstand the bait. Finally, it was just his night,’ he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
‘[I] put some leather gloves on and I told Kelly, “we’re going to have to get him by hand and that’s all it is to it. Hang on”.’
Following the capture near Riverdale, where alligators are as common as crocodiles are in the Northern Territory, Mr. Kelley and Mr. Sziy took ‘Lumpy’ to Alligator Farm to be measured.
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“Lumpy” as the gator is known, weighed in at a whopping 765 lbs. and was 13 feet long. He was later killed and used for processed meat. The head will be mounted on the wall, and the state of Florida is investigating to see if this is, indeed, the largest gator caught by hand of record. Congrats, guys!