Hunter under fire for catching and killing near-record giant Florida gator

‘What an incredibly cowardly thing to do. Did anyone not think of moving it’ says critic of hunter

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mississippi hunter Doug Borries has caught and killed an enormous 13.4 ft alligator weighing 905 pounds near a South Florida lake.

The reptile was suspected of eating livestock on private property in Okeechobee County, and was considered a threat. The owner of the property agreed to have it killed.

“I had no idea the magnitude of how big his body was until we pulled him completely out of the lake,” said Mr Borries.

“Size does matter,” he wrote on his company Facebook wall, Dynamic Outdoors TV, with images of him standing next to the enormous creature, sitting on its back and pulling open its jaws. “To me, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he told WXXV News 25.

Mr Borries staked out the animal, estimated to be 80-years-old, before daylight, spotted it on an island in the lake and shot it.

The hunter has come under fire for killing the animal, instead of trapping it or sedating it and having it relocated to a wildlife sanctuary.

“I hope God forgives you for needlessly killing this creature,” wrote one person.

“Pretty hard to kill an 80 -year-old alligator wow be proud,” said another user.

“This is disgusting!!! Do you feel like a big man now you could have put your obvious large ego away and contacted any of the wonderful alligator reserves where this magnificent creature could have lived out its life. But no, the big man’s hunter had to kill an animal that was surviving and you just acted like an animal right back, instead of being a human and understanding nature,” said another.

“Shooting a huge barely moving animal with a high powered rifle and calling it hunting is an insult to real hunters,” commented another.

“What an incredibly cowardly thing to do. Did anyone not think of MOVING it, instead of murdering it?” wrote another.

Dynamic Outdoors defended its actions by explaining how dangerous gators this size can be. “Just like sharks, a small one can leave you with an injury that may be recoverable but an incredible large/oversized specimen can take [you] out,” it wrote on social media.

This gator was about a foot short of a state record, reported the Sun Herald. The longest gator captured in Florida was 14 feet, 3.5 inches and was caught in Lake Washington, Brevard County.

Mr Borries has said the gator will not go to waste – most of it will be used as meat and be eaten, although he will take a trophy for himself and is having a full, life-size mount made of the gator’s hide.

The Independent has contacted Dynamic Outdoors TV for further comment.