Cochran killed the gator with a single well-placed shot. (Photo: Hughes)
Judy B. Cochran, mayor of Livingston, Texas and a new great-grandmother successfully hunted down a 12-foot-long, 580-pound alligator. According to Cochran and her family the gator had been menacing her property and they believed that it ate one of their mini horses.
“We think this is the gator that ate one of our miniature horses several years ago, as big as this gator was, he could’ve easily eaten it,” she told the Houston Chron. “Typically the gators don’t bother us, but we’ve been looking for (this one).”
She says they will use all of the gator from tip to tail. (Photo: Huges)
Cochran said their mini horse disappeared 3 years ago. The family has been hunting for the alligator every season since.
Her son-in-law Scott Huges first hooked the alligator. “When Scott called, he said, we’ve got the big one, Nana, so come on down,” Cochran told Fox.
She took the gator legally with a license and tag, and recorded the hunt to ensure the public that, as an elected official, it was a safe, ethical cull.
“There are a lot of requirements to kill a gator in Polk County,” Cochran said. “We’re one of 12 counties that has a hunting season for alligators, between Sept. 10-30. You have to have a permit and tags from a wildlife biologist, and you have to catch it on a hook first. We don’t just go to the ranch and hunt a gator.”
There will be “plenty” of leather for making boots. (Photo: Huges)
Cochran plans to use the gator completely. “Moye Taxidermy will be processing it, we’ll eat the meat, have the head mounted and have the ridgeback part of the tail in my office. We’ll have the hide tanned to make some boots out of it, you can only make boots from the belly.”
To kill a gator you have to first catch it and pull it to land then shoot it. Cochran said they hooked the gator using a “seasoned raccoon” as bait. She killed with a single, clean shot with a .22 Magnum rifle.
Cochran goes by “Nana” with her grandkids. She swears, “Don’t mess with Nana!”
She’s not the only hunter in the family. In 2009 her grandson killed an alligator in the same spot when he was just 5 years old. That one was even bigger, at 12 feet long and an even more impressive 800 pounds.