Three Wiregrass men harvested a 474 pound alligator from the Pea River.
Michelle Mann SAMSON — A 474 pound alligator measuring in at 12 feet, five inches was harvested early Sunday morning by three long-time friends from Coffee and Geneva counties. Josh Chambless from Kinston, Dustin Wise from Samson, and Kyle Kennington from Enterprise harvested the alligator along the Pea River in Samson.
Chambless was awarded his first tag and, with the help of Kennington and Wise, filled it in the early hours Sunday, August 20. “We have each been applying for gator tags for several years,” said Kennington, explaining that there is a lottery in the Southeast Zone of Alabama that distributes only 40 tags each year. “Josh drew a tag this season,” Kennington said. “This is the first tag our group has drawn.” The gator was killed on the third night of hunting, Kennington said. “At 10:30 p.m. we snagged the gator from about 15 yards away using two fishing rods equipped with large treble hooks. People are also reading… “Once we snagged him, he charged the boat and hit it with his tail. Then he pulled the boat across the river and swam into a deep hole,” Kennington said. The alligator remain submerged for about an hour and 45 minutes. “We could not pull him up, so we waited for him to come up for air. “Once he surfaced, we pulled him to the boat, snared him, and dispatched him,” Kennington said. “It took another 20 minutes to pull him into the boat.” Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny Studio Alligators are no longer on an endangered species list but are a federally protected species. Hunted for its meat and leather, the species was threatened with extinction during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. As the first state to outlaw unlimited harvesting of alligators in 1938, Alabama was a leader in protection of the Alligator Mississippiensis. In 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed the American alligator on the endangered species list. By 1987, the species was removed from the endangered species list and the alligator population has continued to grow. However, it remains a federally protected species. Alabama’s alligator population has grown to the extent that they pose a nuisance in some areas but the state has a regulated system of Alligator Management Areas in an effort to control and better manage the reptile population According to Marianne Gauldin from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, 40 tags were issued in the Southeast Management Area, which includes private and public waters in Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Russell Counties. The season ends at sunrise on the first Monday of September. Twenty tags were issued in the Eufaula Management Area where the ends at sunrise on the Monday immediately following the first Sunday in October.” We won’t know tallies for those areas until the season is over,” Gauldin said. The alligator harvesting season ended at sunrise Sunday in the West Central, Coastal, and Southwest Alligator Management Areas and those tallies are in, Gauldin said. Of the 50 tags issued in the Coastal Management Area, 27 alligators were harvested. The largest was 12 feet, nine inches and weighed 524 pounds, Gauldin said. “Five of the gators were over 10 feet.” One hundred tags were issued in the Southwest Management Area and 73 alligators were harvested. The largest was 12 feet, eight inches and weighed 542 pounds, Gauldin said. “There, 23 of the gators were over 10 feet.” In the West Central Management Area, 50 tags were issued and 36 alligators harvested. The largest was 11 feet, eight inches and weighed 437 pounds.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Headland High School football game postponedExtreme heat is affecting Friday Night Football in the Wiregrass.
Read more »
All In Credit Union hosts Financial Summer Camp at Wiregrass Boys & Girls ClubAll in Credit Union recently hosted a Financial Summer Camp for members of the Wiregrass Boys & Girls Club. The camp is designed to teach participants the benefits of understanding
Read more »
Wiregrass Kings volleyball sweeps CottondaleThe Wiregrass Kings volleyball team swept the Cottondale (Fla.) Hornets in high school action on Tuesday night, 25-23, 25-17, 25-17.
Read more »