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Florida Hunter Kills Five-Metre-Long Alligator That Was Eating Cattle

"There is no Photoshop done whatsoever."

Consider us terrified that this colossal alligator was strolling around just a few days ago.

Hunters in Florida recently killed and captured a nearly 15-foot (4.6-metre) long, 800-pound (360-kg) gator that was eating their livestock, they told Fox13 News.

The reptile was so big that they had to use a tractor to pull its carcass out of the water, hunting guide Blake Godwin told the outlet.

He said he and hunter Lee Lightsey found the alligator while on a guided hunt on their company farm April 2, he said.

After seeing cattle remains in a pond, Lightsey shot the animal as it came out of the water about 20 feet (six metres) in front of them.

"We have come across lots over the last 20 years that have been only a little smaller," he said.

"It was a monster which needed to be removed."

The two work at Outwest Farms, a hunting outfitter in Okeechobee that runs hunts for alligators, wild boars and other animals.

When Godwin posted the photo to Facebook, people could barely believe it.

"There is no Photoshop done whatsoever. For the record. That gator is what he is. He's huge," he told WPBF.

"There is no Photoshop done whatsoever. For the record. That gator is what he is. He's huge."

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman told ABC News that the colossal reptile is the real deal.

But Tony Young also said hunters are often off in their measurements.

"The official way is to have an alligator on its stomach and have someone pulling on its nose a little bit and pulling on its tail to get it real straight," he told ABC. Chalk then marks each end of the creature.

The largest wild gator ever caught in Florida was 14 feet, 3.5 inches (four metres), according to state records.

Godwin told WPBF Tuesday that the alligator was at the taxidermist, where it would be stuffed and mounted so its official length could be assessed.

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