Gator season in Mississippi is underway, and it started with a near-record-breaking catch.
A team, that included Megan Sasser as the tag-holder, braved torrential rains to haul in a 14-foot, 802-pound alligator on the Yazoo River near Vicksburg. The reptile, which was three inches in length shy of the state record, is estimated to be over 60 years old and had a girth of 65.5 inches.
In a social media post, Sasser said her team is “still over the moon” after reeling in the reptile on Friday.
“We are still over the moon with this fairy tale hunt,” a portion of the Facebook post reads. “We sat through a monsoon for over 3 hours… crunched 2 poles, survived the death roll a few times, displaced everything in the boat, and still managed to bring this monster home!!!”
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took the official measurements. Alligator season in Mississippi began on Aug. 30 and concludes on Sept. 9.
