500-pound alligator captured during Alabama hunting season

A group of friends caught more than they bargained for at the start of Alabama’s alligator hunting season.

Taylor Douglas and his friends captured the more than 500-pound alligator around 2 a.m. Aug. 13 while participating in Alabama’s two-weekend alligator season, which occurs annually.

In total, the male alligator weighed 524 pounds and measured 12 feet, 9 inches, Marianne Gauldin of the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries confirmed to local news station WKRG in Mobile. Gauldin told the station it was the largest alligator of the season so far.

The alligator was captured south of Interstate 10 in Mobile Bay in southern Alabama in the coastal area. It took about an hour to bring the male alligator to shore, from the time he was initially hooked until he was brought into the boat.

Taylor Douglas caught the alligator, weighing more than 500 pounds, in Alabama early Sunday morning during the state's alligator hunting season. He was with his friends and team Champ White, Luke Ojeda, Joey Geil, Richard Pipkins and Daniel Haas. — Taylor Douglas caught the alligator, weighing more than 500 pounds, in Alabama early Sunday morning during the state’s alligator hunting season. He was with his friends and team Champ White, Luke Ojeda, Joey Geil, Richard Pipkins and Daniel Haas.

Douglas said he was surprised he caught such a large alligator.

“We knew we were on a big boat, but no one knew exactly how big it was until it first surfaced,” Douglas said. “Then everyone quickly realized the situation and it was all hands on deck.”

Male American alligators average about 11 feet long, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. The heaviest male alligator can weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 500-pound alligator caught during Alabama hunting season