The alligator is part of the Crocodylia family and is closely related to the crocodile. What distinguishes the former is its rounded, wide snout and black color. Also, with its jaw tight, you can only see the alligator’s upper teeth. Plus, it’s unlikely you’ll ever find the alligator and crocodile in the same habitat. Native to the southeastern United States, the alligator is one of the world’s largest reptiles. And how big it gets is surprising. Typically, alligators grow to between 400lbs – 800lbs and over 8 feet. Their muscular tails make up approximately half of their body length.
#9. The Robert Ammerman Alligator
Noted alligator hunter Robert Ammerman landed this gator in December 2017. Just glancing at the alligator’s head told Ammerman all he needed to know. The catch was so big he couldn’t load it into his boat. The only way to get it on land was by towing it to shore. And this was after the angry gator dragged the boat for 45 minutes! There was another alligator in the area that may have been bigger than Ammerman’s catch. Only no one ever got close to getting their hands on it.
Size: 14 feet 3.5 inches
Weight: 654 pounds
Year: 2017
Where: Florida
#8. The Tom Grant Alligator
Tom Grant is a famous alligator explorer. In 2012 he and his team actually went mano-a-mano with a gator that would end up in the record books as one of the largest. After a tussle, they finally wrestled the beast to shore. One of the team hunters, Kenny Winter, said the gator broke the boat’s winch. The venture took a total hour and a half. The team ended up with a massive reptile with a measured belly girth of 65 inches. This catch was definitely a find as alligators of that length weren’t common in the Mississippi Delta.
Size: 13 feet 1.5 inches
Weight: 697.5 pounds
Year: 2012
Where: Mississippi
Alligators are ubiquitous in the Florida Everglades and Mississippi Delta.
#7. The Blake Godwin and Lee Lightsey Alligator
This alligator drew attention by leaving the remains of missing cattle in the water around the area. They found it in a nearby cattle pond at Outwest Farms when Lee Lightsey spotted it. He owned the property. The Okeechobee, Florida, locals had to use a farm tractor to pull the animal out of the water. Blake Godwin, one of Lightsey’s guides, was there for the measuring. After he said, “It is hard to believe that something this big exists in the wild.” The two hunters gave the meat to charity and taxidermied the rest of the carcass.
Size: 15 feet
Weight: 800 pounds
Year: 2016
Where: Florida
#6. Big Tex
This alligator actually had a name as he roamed the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge. Big Tex apparently stopped fearing humans. This created serious issues among the populace. He was finally lassoed and relocated. The refuge measured the creature, promptly calling Big Tex the biggest alligator in Texas history caught alive. They transferred Big Tex to an exhibit area in Gator Country. He became a popular attraction at the adventure park/rescue facility. One of his habitat mates is Big Al, another giant at 13 feet 4 inches and 1,000 pounds.
Size: 13 feet 8.5 inches
Weight: 900 pounds
Year: 1996
Where: Texas
#5. The Lane Stephens Alligator
There was a massive gator roaming the neighborhood, described by local homeowners as a “nuisance.” Local alligator trapper Lane Stephens decided to go after it. He’d legally harvested over two dozen gators that year alone, pulling in four over 11 feet. Stephens snagged the gator with a baited hook, roped it, and ended the battle with a clean kill. In total, he and the gator fought for three and a half hours. Throughout, he marveled at the size of the beast. Neighbors had said it was big, but Stephens didn’t expect the alligator to be a length of 14 feet!
Size: 14 feet
Weight: Around 1,000 pounds
Year: 2012
Where: Florida
Authorities have recently begun lifting hunting restrictions on American Alligators, as they are no longer considered endangered.
#4. The Apalachicola Giant
With how still alligators can lay, it’s no surprise that Capps was able to spear it.
Corey Capps dreamt of bringing down the behemoth of an alligator haunting his home in Blountstown. One day he was on a boat ride when he spotted the gator on the bank. Capps got his buddy, Rodney Smith, on the line. Smith had a legal tag for going after the animal. They went out the next day and harpooned the giant. Using a Jon boat, it took almost four hours to move the gator just 100 feet.
Size: 13 feet
Weight: 1,008 pounds
Year: 2020
Where: Florida
#3. The Mandy Stokes Alligator
The view Mandy Stokes would have most likely seen through her pearls and perfume.
Currently, the Stokes gator remains the biggest verified alligator in the world. Mandy Stokes was a hunter of boars and deer but never planned to go one-on-one with a gator. But one day she and her family did go on a gator hunt.
On that fateful first trip, she bagged this giant. Wearing perfume and pearls, Stokes had the withdrawal to take on the gator for almost a full day.
The battle took place at a tributary of the Alabama River. The Stokes family was on a 17-foot aluminum vessel. The battle went on from night into the next morning. After setting the first hook, they struggled to hold onto the beast. It wasn’t until the following morning Stokes got a clear shot.
The Stokes clan had to figure out how to get the capture back. They failed to get it into the boat. The family eventually lashed it to the hull. With the boat on the verge of tipping, everyone stayed on the opposite gunwale, the way sailors do to counter strong winds.
The animal broke the winch locals used to weigh gators. A sight to see, the Stokes alligator is on display in Camden at the Millers Ferry Powerhouse.
Size: 15 feet 9 inches
Weight: 1,011.5 pounds
Year: 2014
Where: Alabama
#2. The Alligator Skull
Found in Florida, a discovered alligator skull likely belonged to one of the largest alligators on record. It remains one of the largest skulls found in the state. Using the 29 1/2 inch length of the skull, investigators were able to determine the beast was 13 feet 10 inches. At the time, that put the animal in the biggest top five. It likely weighed 1,043 pounds.
Size: 13 feet 10 inches
Weight: 1,043 pounds
Year: 2020
Where: Florida
Scientists can determine an alligator’s size by its skull.
#1. The Mike Cottingham Alligator
During an outing with a private hunting club, Mike Cottingham immediately recognized this monster as large. The head by itself weighed close to 300 pounds. The reptile was so huge five people had to lift it into the boat. After examining the alligator, a local herpetologist estimated the animal to be nearly 36 years old. The proud hunter said he planned to mount the head and use the rest of the alligator to make himself a fine pair of boots.
Size: 13 feet 3 inches
Weight: 1,380 pounds
Year: 2012
Where: Arkansas
The American alligator, which keeps on growing throughout its life, can grow up to 11.2 feet long and weigh nearly half a ton.
