LIVINGSTON, TX (KTRK/CNN) - A grandmother, who is also the mayor of a Texas town, shot and killed a 12-foot, 580-pound alligator that she says she’ll have made into boots.
Mayor Judy Cochran of Livingston, TX, says you never know where life might take you. The traveler and avid Houston Astros fan finally got the big one Monday: a 12-foot long, 580-pound alligator.
The grandmother shot the alligator at the family ranch along the Trinity River.
"One shot in the head, and he just went under. Typically, they'll do what they call a death roll and just roll over and over and over. Well, this one didn't,” Cochran said.
Cochran says the alligator could be responsible for a missing animal from the ranch.
"Three years ago, we came up missing a miniature horse. They’re about like a big lab [in size],” she said.
The alligator is now at the local taxidermist, where its head and tail will be mounted. Cochran says she’ll have its body made into boots.
Now, the mayor and grandmother can add one more title to her resume: gator hunter.
And the moral of the story, according to Cochran?
"I said, ‘Don't mess with Nana.’ My grandchildren call me Nana,” she said.
Polk County is one of a few Texas counties where you can only kill an alligator on 20 days out of the year. It must be baited and caught first.
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