The World’s Largest Gators

Wednesday, 6th February 2008 by

When I was younger, it was always one of my favourite 'facts' that "millions of years ago crocodiles and alligators were, like, hundreds of feet long". Of course it's difficult to argue with a statement this naïve, but we do know that the biological order of large reptiles known as Crocodilia has remained pretty much unchanged for a staggering 84 million years.1

Imagine my joy then, when I learned of a 200 foot-long gator in Florida! Imagine too, how my joy turned so quickly to disappointment when I saw the low-resolution shots that cover the Jungle Adventures alligator farm. They're so poor that I can't even spot a 200 foot-long alligator!

This got me thinking however... "What was the largest alligator in the world before this elusive specimen?" The answer of course, is the world's second largest gator! What a beaut, eh?

Miraculously also in Florida, at Jungleland, this 126 foot-long monster has an evil glint in its eyes, and is so big it could easily eat cars like biscuits! Wait a minute... it IS eating a car! Yes, it's chowing down on a safari jeep like it was a [Graham Cracker/Tim Tam/Hob-Nob]!2

All of which makes me rather glad that crocs and gators aren't any bigger than they already are.

Thanks to Kurt Leucht and Felippo. Read more about the world's largest gators at Roadside America.


  1. Their prehistoric relatives may have been much larger, but wouldn't necessarily be recognisable to us as 'crocodiles'. ↩︎

  2. Delete as appropriate. ↩︎