I Hunted Down the Gator That Killed My Bird Dog — and More Alligator Tales from the South

I Hunted Down the Gator That Killed My Bird Dog — and More Alligator Tales from the South

This story, “Gators I’ve Known,” appeared in the December 1951 issue of Outdoor Life. With the possible exceptions of the rattlesnake and the bald eagle, the North American alligator has been the victim of more nature faking than any other creature on the continent. For one thing, fourteen- and fifteen-foot man-killers are by no means uncommon in adventure fiction. But the largest American alligator I’ve ever measured stretched just 12 feet 8 in…