Largest gator in the Western Hemisphere?

I got an email from a friend recently, to my great disappointment the pictures did not load but the beast description did. The so called "alligator" was found in New Orleans and measured 21 feet and weighed 4500 pounds! To me this sounds a little fishy and also put to credit it was an internet story and the pics in the email did not load.

The brief description went on to describe that the army killed it because they thought it would be a problem, and do to its "age" it would be to lazy to hunt animals, and it would target humans. So they killed it without proof. Don't get me wrong this guy, if he is or was real, would probably have become a problem. But they didn't have to kill him, captivity could have been an option. Look at Gomek for those who have heard of him. 17 foot saltwater crocodile became a problem croc but was put into captivity at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and he lived the rest of his days happy and fed. He even tamed down and seemed to settle into his new life.

So you can see why I would be pissed if this supposed giant was killed without proof of a murderous streak, assuming he existed at all. If you have any information please let me know, I would like to see this colossus if he is real.

I can tell you that it was not a gator. there were multiple things of this nature flying around the internet after Katrina hit. The story was pretty consistent, and was accompanied by various shots of a large croc. The size puts it in line with either a Nile or Salty. It is also very unlikely that it was "found" in New Orleans (unless he floated away from a storm damaged croc farm/exhibit...but that would have made even bigger headlines). I seem to recall seeing the pictures a few years ago, and I believe it was a Nile croc. I'll see if I can dig up any info for you

here is a link to the pics: http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2...?fromrelated=1

didn't come up with the "official" new orleans story - but here is the REAL story behind the pics http://www.snopes.com/katrina/photos/crocodile.asp

That sounds much more believable, and yea that is definitely a Nile croc. And i can see how they exaggerated greatly on the size. Given the photo i wouldn't say it was more than 17 feet or weighed much more than a ton. Thanks for clearing this up.

On another note, did you guys see the killer croc in Uganda named Gustave? He was a true monster, the managed to capture him on film but failed to actually capture and measure him. The film clearly shows him next to twelve foot crocs and he utterly dwarfed them. The hippos even stayed out of this goliath's path. This was no hoax and this beast was real, but he was a smart one and avoided all attempts of capture. Gustave however has killed many people along the river he called his kingdom, and hasn't been seen since the documentary. It is believed that the government stepped in and eradicated him. In the documentary though they depicted the crocs side and you could clearly see machine gun wounds that had healed. The scientist attributed this to his intelligence in avoiding humans and his murderous attacks on them. This seemed odd to me, but in truth most of his victims were found slaughtered and not eaten. Either way Gustave is nowhere to be found and a true giant has been lost forever. Although they were unable to capture him they estimated him to be near 30 feet in length and weighing well over 2,000 pounds. The document was put out by National Geographic and was called "In Search of the Killer Croc." If you ever get the chance to watch it do so you will be amazed.

hhmoore
Thx for posting the real truth about the pics and the croc.

no problem. glad you enjoyed them

Yeah, that makes tons of sense. Lets just kill the possible largest croc in the Western Hemisphere, rather than keep him in captivity and study him a live...makes worlds of sense.

Originally Posted by JnSinverts

Yeah, that makes tons of sense. Lets just kill the possible largest croc in the Western Hemisphere, rather than keep him in captivity and study him a live...makes worlds of sense.

Naaaah, he wasn't even close...if you read the real story, he was only about 16 ft

LOL, I don't read, I just skim...but still he was a cutie! Such a waste to kill him, regardless.


Sheila