A 463-pound gargantuan alligator was trapped on a highway in Florida after a semi-truck ran over its snout.
The huge alligator was trying to cross a highway in Florida when the incident happened. According to CNN, the incident happened in the first weeks of June 2019.
Broderick Vaughan, a Tallahassee Alligator Trapper, received a call about an alligator that was walking in circles on a highway near Florida.
Broderick has been an Alligator trapper for more than a decade. But, he did not expect that the alligator was going to be this big.
When Vaughan reached the spot, he saw the 12-foot 463-pound alligator. Broderick says this alligator was one of the largest alligators he has ever encountered.
The gator trapper said that it was injured badly.
The semi-truck ran over its snout, which caused severe injuries on its snout and crushed one side of its head.
The trapper managed to tape the mouth of the huge alligator and pushed him into the back of his truck and brought him back to his facility.
But unfortunately, the alligator had to be euthanized as it was seriously injured.
Vaughan explained, “There was no reason to keep him alive and let him suffer.”
According to the Highway Patrol office of Florida, the massive gator accidentally got onto the road on June 3 while it was trying to cross the highway.
The office added that the highway had to be closed for a number of hours until the alligator was safely removed.
As mentioned in the Florida Wildlife Regulation, if an alligator is more than 4 feet in length, then it is considered as a potential threat to people and property, and is considered as a nuisance.
This means that the alligator can’t be relocated, and if no one can keep them in exhibits or farms, then the alligators must be euthanized and should be sent to processing facilities so the meat of the alligators could be sold to restaurants or tanned so it could be used in leather products.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the current population of alligators is around 1.3 million.