Mississippi hunters captured two 700 pound alligator this weekend, just three days after alligator hunting season officially began.
The state record was broken twice this weekend, as a team of five broke the previous record of 697.5 pounds on Aug. 31 when they reeled in a 723.5 pound gator.
"When we first saw him," said Beth Tramell, who headed a team of five, according to ABC News. "I yelled 'oh my gosh we caught the Loch Ness Monster!' It was totally unbelievable."
It took two additional hunters and over five hours worth of pulling before the team was able to get the gator into their boat.
The team's record was short lived however, as it was broken just two hours later by Dustin Bockman and two partners.
"My goal was to get a 10-footer," said Bockman, according to ABC News. "I couldn't believe it when it was that big."
The team caught a 727-pound gator on their first try, according to ABC News. It took Bockman's team over four hours to pull in the gator.
This is the first year that there has been a state-wide alligator season according to Ricky Flint, Mississippi Alligator Program coordinator.
"We expect the records to get broken and these will be broken, as well. Maybe before the end of this season," said Flint, according to ABC News.
Bockman is hosting a party next week to eat the meat from the record breaking alligator.
Regulations will force Bockman to wait until next season to try breaking his record. Bockman is optimistic however that even if someone breaks his record, he'll be able to try topping it.
"If someone beats my record, I'll go out and try to top it," said Bockman. "There's always a bigger one out there."
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