A dead alligator found this week, supposedly almost 15 feet long, may be the largest ever recorded in the state of Florida.
The alligator was found near one of the ponds of Outwest Farms, and the owner of the farm believes that the dead alligator was responsible for eating some of his missing cattle.
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed that the alligator is real, and that it is very large.
“All we know is a large alligator was killed,” the spokesperson told ABC News. “We haven’t determined if it was killed in the wild or if it was a farm-raised alligator that was in this guy’s pond.”
Whether the alligator was found in the wild or farmed raised is important because the record book only includes wild alligators.
The largest wild alligator found in Florida was measured at 14 feet 3.5 inches, according to the Wildlife Commission. However, the spokesperson said that hunters are prone to exaggerating the size of the animals they find.
“The official way is to have an alligator on its stomach and have someone pulling on its nose a little bit and pulling on its tail to get it real straight,” the spokesperson said.
An official measuring is forthcoming later this week.
