RCReptiles.com

[reptilehunter]

12-foot, 475-pound alligator killed on N.C. coastal highway
Sep 27, 2006 02:29 PM EDT

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- There's road kill, and then there's what one motorist left on US 17 in Onslow County Monday night.

Authorities say the unidentified driver hit a 12-foot-long American alligator that weighed 475 pounds. It was so big that officials needed an excavator to get it off the road. The reptile was removed by state Department of Transportation officials on Tuesday.

State wildlife officials say the alligator was about 85 years old when it was struck.

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service says the American alligator was taken off the endangered species list in 1987, but the legal trade of alligator skin is still regulated.

The reptiles live throughout the Southeast, and a DOT engineer says it's not uncommon for them to cross major roadways as part of their seasonal migration.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[lindsey_marshall00]

The poor thing! Lived that long. I hope it tore up the persons car. How could you not see a 12 foot alligator in the middle of the road?????

[deborahbroadus]

[Kubi]

There was a picture on the front page. Ill scan it when I find it.