A 15-foot, 9-inch American alligator, weighing 1,011.5 pounds and now boasting a world record as the largest alligator ever killed in the wild is on display at an Alabama zoo.

Game wardens learned of the alligator's killing earlier this week, including details and photos posted on social media. The wardens used the same social media outlet to solicit clues leading to the two.

With growth comes change, and that is no different when it comes to alligator hunting. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks recently announced a major change in how alligator hunters will receive tags.

A 31-year-old man from Cut Off who said he shot a man he mistook for an alligator will get a new trial after a jury could not make a decision in his second-degree murder case.

“Every little restaurant wants to serve alligator,” said Kelvin Townsend, an alligator farmer and processor in LaBelle. “And now that they've seen the TV shows, everyone wants to kill an alligator.”

Hunters must have a valid Mississippi hunting license before the application is made.

Couple says they didn't discover the 84-plus alligators on land next to their homestead until four years after they bought the property in southwest Mississippi.