Georgia hunters have bagged a couple of massive alligators this week, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
On Wednesday, a hunter killed an 11-foot, 800-pound gator near in the Chattahoochee River near Fort Benning. It still had part of a large pig in its mouth when it was shot, the Franklin police chief told Channel 2 Action News.
On Sunday in Lake Seminole, in the state's southwest corner, hunters killed a 13-foot, 9-inch gator that weighed 680 pounds. It was the longest taken since Georgia's alligator hunting season began in 2003.
"Once they had a line on the animal, it took them two hours to get him to the boat," DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings told the AJC. "The gator was dispatched with a .44-caliber bangstick."
Georgia's gator hunting season runs from Sept. 4 to Oct. 3. Permit holders are allowed to bag one alligator, and it must be at least four feet long.
According to the DNR, hunters may use hand-held ropes or snares, snatch hooks, harpoons, gigs or arrows with a restraining line attached. Immediately upon capture, the gator must be dispatched with a handgun or bangstick, or by severing the spinal cord with a sharp implement.
The hunting season helps control Georgia's flourishing gator population. In addition, state-licensed trappers annually remove about 450 gators around Georgia.
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