Tag holder Chris Bufkin of Harvest, AL holds open the once powerful jaws of an 11-foot-long, 380-pound alligator harvested on the Alabama River this past Friday night (8/19/11) just north of Camden, AL. Pictured left to right is the remainder of the team that helped subdue the large lizard: Ben Payton (Predator Xtreme Web Producer) of Chelsea, AL; Kurt Olis of Destin, FL; and Mark Olis (Predator Xtreme Managing Editor) of Calera, AL.

Chris Bufkin shows off the impressive and terrifying cutlery possessed by the 11-foot, 380-pound alligator. On the same night (8/19/11) a few miles down river from where this brute was harvested a new state record was on it's way in to the check-in. That monster measured 14'2" and weighed an astounding 838 pounds.

The west central alligator hunting area consists of a three-county section along the Alabama River in Dallas, Wilcox and Monroe counties. This is the first year that the state has held a gator hunt in this region due to expanding populations. The Mobile/Tensaw Delta has an annual hunt with 125 permits awarded, a southeast portion of the state along the Chattahoochee River allows 125 permits per year, and the new Southwest region allotted 50 tags for this year's hunt. Just behind the gators head you can see the wire cable attached to a Muzzy harpoon point. It took two harpoons attached with cable and rope to help subdue the 380-pound gator for harvest.

Web Producer Ben Payton kneels beside an 11-foot, 380-pound alligator taken from the Alabama River during the second weekend of the split 2011 Alabama Alligator season. After this picture was taken, the four hunters spent the next two hours skinning and processing the delicious white meat found under the animal's armor-plated skin.