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by WILL FOLKS
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A pair of hunters pulled a massive alligator out of the upper Savannah River on the border of Georgia and South Carolina last week – just a few miles downstream from where another gator bit a swimmer just four days earlier.
According to Aiken Info, the “gargantuan” gator – killed legally during the state of Georgia’s alligator hunting season – was landed on Thursday, August 27, 2026 by Georgia hunters Mason Dodd and Tony Jones. It was captured near the Savannah River’s fall line, located approximately seven miles northwest of Augusta.
The male alligator was approximately 12-feet, 6-inches long and weighed 570 pounds – making it one of the largest animals killed during the current hunting season in Georgia, which opened on August 14, 2026 and is scheduled to close on October 5, 2026. South Carolina’s alligator hunting season is scheduled to begin at noon on September 12, 2026, and run through noon on October 10, 2026.
These seasons coincide with alligator hatch season, which can make male alligators more territorial than usual in the vicinity of nests.
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“Riverkeepers have said alligator behavior has looked different this year, with more animals concentrated near the lock and dam and a handful of unusual encounters,” Aiken Info noted.
Just four days before Dodd and Jones landed their gator, a 31-year-old triathlon coach from Charlotte was attacked by a much smaller alligator while participating in a training swim on the Savannah River. Jonathan Bruney brought several of his athletes to Augusta – which is hosting an Ironman event on Sunday, September 27, 2026 – for a practice swim ahead of the big race.
According to WRDW TV 12-26 (CBS – Augusta), shortly after 10:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday (August 24, 2026), a four-to-five foot gator appeared “out of nowhere” and bit into his arm – prompting Bruney to jam his thumb into the animal’s eye in the hopes of getting it to release its grip.
The gator let go of Bruney, but caused a deep gash in his arm that required multiple stitches.
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The largest confirmed gator kill in Georgia occurred on September 1, 2019 when Derrick Snelson and his 14-year-old daughter, Shelby Snelson – with the help of a guide – killed a 14-foot, 1.75-inch beast weighing 700 pounds on Walter F. George Lake (also known as Lake Eufala).
South Carolina’s largest confirmed gator kill took place on September 25, 2010 when wild game hunter Maryellen Mara-Christian of Fitchburg, Massachusetts – with the help of a guide – killed a 13-foot, 6-inch alligator on Lake Moultrie. That beast weighted a staggering 1,025 pounds.
Three years ago, however, we reported on an alligator killed on private property in Orangeburg, S.C. that was estimated at 15-feet, 6 inches long. No weight for that gator was ever provided, however.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track any new record-setting developments during the upcoming gator season in the Palmetto State…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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