That part of Alabama was one Florida
Posted on 11/05/2024 1:18:35 PM PST by Red Badger
Alligators are one of the most dangerous animals in the US. The states that have the most attacks are Louisiana and Florida given the population of alligators located there. However, as alligators have begun to migrate to places in Tennessee and have even been located in Lake Eerie, that may change. Even the biggest alligator ever found was located in a surprising state, not Louisiana and Florida, showing that states that may never have dealt with an alligator population may have no choice but to do so in the future.
Louisiana and Florida each have more than one million alligators living in and around the states. While alligators will attack humans, an interesting fact about alligators is that they are not naturally aggressive towards humans. Alligators would prefer to mind their own business and hunt animals to their liking.
However, some alligators become a nuisance and require being placed in a sanctuary or alligator haven to live out their lives in a controlled version of the wild. But, given the large numbers of alligators, most states allow them to be hunted with a license, which is how one Alabama alligator made the record books as being the largest alligator ever found.
Biggest Alligator Ever Found Was In Alabama, Not Florida Or Louisiana
The Stokes alligator was located in Alabama in 2014 on the Alabama River
Louisiana and Florida have the largest population of alligators in the US. Consequently, it would be anticipated that the largest alligators would be located in one of these two states. While there have been some sizable alligators found in these two states, the biggest alligators in the Sunshine State and the Pelican State, could not compare to the massive alligator found in Alabama.
On August 16, 2014, Mandy Stokes, her husband, John, and her brother-in-law, Kevin Jenkins, set out to hunt for an alligator on the Alabama River. The trio borrowed a 17-foot aluminum boat for their adventure on the water.
While Stokes was an avid deer and hog hunter, this was the first alligator she had hunted for. Call it beginner's luck or Stokes wearing the right perfume to attract the alligators, Stokes would hold the record for finding the largest alligator by the end of the evening.
Around 10:45 PM, an alligator was hooked on the hunting line. Despite eventually being "hooked in multiple places," Stokes, her husband, and Jenkins could not bring the alligator to the surface to kill it.
The alligator stayed on the bottom of the slough where he was captured for over an hour and a half after nearly capsizing the aluminum boat following a ricocheted bullet shot by Stokes. It looked like the hunting might be over for the night, and according to Stokes, there was a discussion about cutting the lines and letting the alligator go.
Ultimately, the trio stayed the course and got the opportunity they were looking for when the alligator's head broke the water's surface. He was discharged on the spot and killed instantly. That was when Stokes got the first look at the size of the alligator she had captured and killed.
How Large The Alligator Was Given the size of the alligator, he could not be pulled into the aluminum boat. He instead had to be towed back. It was not until the alligator made it to dry land that his remarkable size was recognized.
The alligator was 15 feet 9 inches long and weighed in at 1,011.5 pounds, according to Field & Stream. These measurements were enough to give Stokes the Safari Club International title of having found the largest alligator in history in the US. The previous record was held by a 14-foot 8-inch alligator located in Texas in 2008.
Where The Stokes Alligator Can Be Seen Today, the alligator is known as the Stokes alligator.
The alligator was taken to the taxidermist to be preserved. When this happened, according to Field & Stream, the taxidermist noted some massive meals in the alligator's stomach, which included:
Two squirrels
One duck
One three-year-old doe
Part of a cow or calf
The Stokes alligator was doing well in and around the slough where he lived. Just how far he traveled for his food is unknown.
Those who want to see the Stokes alligator can visit him at the Montgomery Zoo in Alabama. There, visitors can see just how massive a creature the Stokes alligator was in his prime.
Since the Stokes alligator was discovered in 2014, there have been several alligators found that have come close to breaking the SCI record. However, none has managed to do so yet.
The alligators with honorable mention for being some of the largest in the US include:
Alligator-------------Location------Date-----Weight And Length
Big Tex---------------Texas---------2019-----1,000 pounds / 13 feet 8 inches
Cattle farm alligator--Florida------2016-----800 pounds / Just under 15 feet
Cattle farm alligator--Florida------2023-----Unknown / 12 feet 2 inches
With the Stokes alligator at the top of how large male alligators can get in the wild, it is unlikely that another one of its size will be located anytime soon. When and if this happens, however, the massive creature will be a sight to behold indeed.
GATOR Ping!...................
Yep alligators have gators too.. That could be why he grew so large, less competition., because they do not have a lot of swamp areas.
So Alabama beats Florida even at Gators? That’s just humiliating. (Sorry UF fans, I’m just being silly. I don’t even like the Crimson Tide.)
So...NOT a surprising state at all. An adjacent state.
Stupid clickbait headline.
I don’t see wat is surprising. Alabama has some of the panhandle. Alabama got screwed by some shady dealings. Alabama should have had the whole thing below the state to the coast.
“I don’t see wat is surprising. Alabama has some of the panhandle. Alabama got screwed by some shady dealings. Alabama should have had the whole thing below the state to the coast.”
Florida got screwed. It once extended all the way to the Mississippi but shay dealings took it away.
Then I’ll say it...
Roll Tide!
Wow….
I have an alligator that I estimate to be 10-12 ft that frequents my property. He came up beside a duck nest box that I have in shallow water in the lake by my house. Only exposed was from the tip of his nose to his eye which was twice as long as the roof on the duck box which was 18 inches. So his head, nose to behind the eye, was about 36 inches. He is a big boy.
West Florida was occupied by Americans before 1812.
Mississippi and Alabama were made states by 1819. That included those parts of West Florida the Spanish acknowledged as already annexed by the USA (Biloxi Bay and Mobile Bay).
The rest of Florida was purchased by the United States from Spain in 1820. So how was that shady? It simply was the process of the So0uth being settled by the USA.
CHOOT !
CHOOT !
“Alabama got screwed by some shady dealings. Alabama should have had the whole thing below the state to the coast.”
No shady dealings. The US sent troops to steal territory from Spain. The stopped at Perdido Bay and established that as US territory which then became Alabama. Later, Spain gave up Florida.
No offense taken, or is that no offense for the Gators as of last Saturday?
“Alabama got screwed by some shady dealings.”
Georgia was screwed when they took half and made it Alabama.
The Bayou Beast is dead, or so the story goes.
JMO, YMMV
That part of Alabama was one Florida
“Surprising” would have been some place like New Hampshire or North Dakota.
I know it’s wholly unnecessary to tell you. But be careful out there and don’t get ambushed.
Should have left it alone to see how really big it could
get. There were reports of 23 ft gators by early Spanish explorers
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