14-foot beast in Pinellas: How big are the alligators in Volusia-Flagler?
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of death of a 41-year-old woman whose body was found in a waterway near Tampa last week.
A nearly 14-foot alligator, which was captured and euthanized by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials, was found with the victim's remains.
While alligator sightings are not exactly a rarity in Florida, encountering such 12-, 13- or even 14-foot-long beasts is.
The recent animal measured 13 feet, 8.5 inches, which put it at No. 8 in the FWC's Top-10 list of largest male alligators found in the state since 1977.
The third one on that list was caught at Lake Monroe in Volusia County back in 1997. It measured just over 14 feet, weighing close to 800 pounds, making it the largest ever caught in the county.
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But even though this record has not been broken since, other large alligators have made the news. Here is a look at some of those caught in Volusia and Flagler counties:
12-foot alligator caught in Blue Spring – 2015
The body of James Okkerse, a 62-year-old DeBary resident, was found at the bottom of a channel in Blue Spring in October 2015.
After an investigation, officials determined that Okkerse’s cause of death was an alligator attack.
Authorities found a 12-foot alligator in the water in the area were Okkerse disappeared and determined it was responsible for his death. FWC officials shot and killed the animal hours later.
12-foot alligator caught in Flagler County – 2020
Three men captured a 12-foot alligator in a tributary of the St. Jonhs River in Flagler County in October 2020, according to a News4Jax report.
One of the capturers called the nighttime encounter with the beast “pure chaos,” with another man getting a black eye in the struggle to subdue the animal.
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They estimated it to weigh between 600 and 700 pounds.
11-foot alligator found in swimming pool in Deltona – 2023
In March, a Deltona woman woke up to find an 11-foot alligator in her swimming pool, according to a Channel 6 report.
The homeowner called FWC, which determined the animal to be a nuisance alligator. Officials trapped and then euthanized it.
This incident happened just days after a Daytona Beach man was attacked by a smaller, nearly 8-foot alligator.
The man began hearing noises coming from behind the front door. When he opened it, the alligator “lunged and he was bitten in the upper thigh,” according to Daytona Beach police.
How big are alligators captured in Volusia and Flagler?
According to FWC data, almost 188,000 nuisance alligators have been harvested by the agency in Florida. It registered the highest number in 2006, with 11,664 alligators harvested.
But how many have been caught in Volusia and Flagler?
FWC data dating back 20 years shows that the Volusia County harvested 693 alligators, while Flagler County harvested 254. Both Volusia and Flagler registered the highest number of alligators trapped in each county in 2018, with 67 and 30 respectively.
The data also shows the average size of the captured reptiles. In Volusia, alligators caught by trappers have averaged 8.9 feet in size from 2003 to 2022, while those found in Flagler have averaged 8.2 feet.
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If you believe an alligator poses a threat to people, pets or property, call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.
For information about alligators in Florida, visit the FWC’s website at myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/alligator/data.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: How big are the alligators caught in the Volusia-Flagler area?
