The world record alligator was harvested 10 years ago and is controversial because it appeared to have grown 9 inches after it died. How did something like that happen and does Mississippi have a chance at beating it?
At least some Mississippi alligator hunters think not.
The story began in 2014 when AL.com reported Alabama alligator hunter Mandy Stokes and fellow hunters landed a massive alligator. According to the news outlet, state biologists measured it, and it was an almost unbelievable 15-feet long and weighed 1,011.5 pounds.
The Safari Club International is an organization that keeps records of the largest animals harvested and the world-record alligator, which is determined by length, was a 14-foot, 8-inch gator harvested by Thomas Bass of Trinity, Texas, in 2007. Stokes' alligator beat that by 4 inches.
However, when SCI sent representatives to measure and certify the animal, the head had been removed as well as the hide. When SCI measured it, the total length of the head and the skin came to 15 feet, 9 inches.
More: A missing foot, a state record and a pair of pliers: A look back at some wild gator hunts
How did a dead alligator grow 9 inches?
That's a question many people were likely asking. Ricky Flynt, who was the Alligator Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks at the time, explained.
"You could not accurately measure the hide of an alligator and determine the length when it was alive," Flynt told The Clarion-Ledger in 2014. "It would be an estimate, at best."
Flynt was stumped as to why the measurement taken by trained, state biologists when the animal was whole was not accepted.
"That is not a biological measurement after you've taken the skin off," Flynt said. "The skin is flexible and can be stretched."
So, although the animal was clearly a world record, the 15-foot, 9-inch length is questionable and one that will be difficult to top.
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Can Mississippi produce a world-record alligator?
This season will mark the 20th year of alligator hunting in Mississippi. The first hunt was on the Pearl River above Ross Barnett Reservoir. It was gradually expanded to include the entire state.
However, state records have continued to be broken. In 2023, the record for longest alligator was broken with a 14-foot, 3-inch alligator harvested by Donald Woods of Oxford. It was taken in the Yazoo River and weighed 802.5 pounds.
It would take an alligator that's more than 18-inches longer than the current Mississippi record and at least some hunters don't see it happening.
"I don't," said Tim Taylor of Ridgeland. "I really don't."
Taylor said he doesn't consider a measurement valid unless the alligator is intact and the extra 9 inches puts a record coming from Mississippi out of reach.
"To my knowledge, there's only been three or four gators over 14 feet with 20 years of gator hunting," Taylor said.
Mike Macko of Brandon said much the same.
"Not 15 (feet) 9 (inches), no," Macko said. "You'll get close to 15 feet, but I don't think you'll find one bigger than that. I wish there was, but, whew, that would be a dinosaur."
Even so, alligator hunters will get another shot at breaking a state, or world, record this week. Alligator season on public waters opens Aug. 30 and ends Sept. 9.
Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: The world-record alligator: How a dead gator grew 9 inches. Can it be beat?
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