I’ll admit it, my initial reaction to seeing this massive gator was: Photoshop.
As the day went on, more news outlets seemed to be picking it up, followed by interviews with the hunters themselves. Maybe I was wrong.
Turns out Lee Lightsey, owner of Outwest Farms located in Okeechobee, Florida initially got eyes on the massive beast over the weekend while hunting alligators in a cattle pond, stating the size did not really surprise him.
“Although this animal is huge, I was not that surprised it existed,” Lightsey told BBC News. “We have come across lots over the last 20 years that have been only a little smaller.
“But what really drew our attention to this animal was the fact that it seems to have been feasting on the cattle on my farm, because mutilated body parts were found in the water. It was a monster which needed to be removed.”
According to a Fox affiliate, Godwin mentioned the two men saw the gator come to the surface about 20 feet in front of them when Lightsey pulled the trigger on the gigantic gator.
Lightsey and Godwin have said they plan to donate the meat from the gator to charity and have the alligator taxidermied for display at their hunting shows and expos.