Bullets Bounce Off Alligator's Skin

POSTED: 5:58 pm EDT October 17, 2007
[/align]UPDATED: 8:24 pm EDT October 17, 2007
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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- [/b]A 13-foot, 1,000-pound alligator considered to be one of the largest ever seen in Seminole County was captured after it posed a threat to people and animals in the area.

"He posed a threat to the public and that is why we took him," alligator trapper Jerry Flint said.

A motorist spotted the giant alligator roaming along state Road 17-92 near Lake Monroe and said it was poised to strike. When trappers arrived to the area, they tried to take it down with bullets. Flint said two .45-caliber bullets bounced off the alligator's tough skin.

A bang stick was eventually used to kill the large alligator.

"(A bang stick) is all we have between us and a 13-foot alligator that weighs 1,000 pounds," Flint said.

Flint said the 13-footer was rare for the area.

"This is unusual," Flint said. "We catch a lot of 10- and 12-footers. We respect them and respect them all the way from 4 feet to this 13 footer. They're prehistoric dinosaurs and when God made them, he made an awesome animal."

It took Flint and others about two hours to load the alligator into a cooler after it was taken down.
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[/align]this was about one mile from my house..
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