10-foot alligator that broke Mississippi’s state record could be 100 years old

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT/Gray News) - A 10-foot alligator broke the state record for the longest female alligator captured in Mississippi, and the reptile could be 100 years old.

The creature was reportedly killed Aug. 28 on the Pearl River by two Mississippi alligator hunters, Jim Denson and Richie Denson.

It’s full measurement was 10 feet, 2 inches long.

The alligator had previously been captured and tagged as “Yellow 410″ in 2009 as part of a research project. At the time, “Yellow 410″ also measured exactly 10 feet, 2 inches and was captured within 100 yards of where the Densons killed it.

According to Ricky Flynt, Alligator Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, this state record ties a previous world record for the longest free-ranging wild female alligator, which was measured in Florida in 1984.

That record was recently broken in Florida in 2021 with a female alligator that measured 10 feet, 6.75 inches.

Since 2007, over 800 alligators have been captured and tagged in Mississippi.