\u201cWe had a lot of eyes on us,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople were waving, giving thumbs up\u2026 even the workers at McDonald\u2019s came outside to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But this wasn\u2019t roadkill. It was the result of years of patience and planning.<\/p>\n
Livingston had been applying for a South Carolina alligator hunting tag for five years through the state\u2019s alligator hunting season lottery system<\/a>. This year, her name was finally drawn in Unit 4, which covers the Pee Dee.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gain preference points each year,\u201d she said. \u201cThis year I finally had enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Department of Natural Resources, is designed to keep alligator populations healthy and sustainable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is not to eliminate alligators,\u201d Jay Butfiloski, the state\u2019s former alligator program coordinator, said. \u201cIt\u2019s to allow some harvest, which helps manage the population and reduce nuisance issues.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Livingstons, the hunt itself was a wild ride.<\/p>\n After hours of fighting the massive reptile, a final shot rang out just after 3 a.m., sealing the catch. Brittany Livingston earned herself a new nickname: \u201cGator Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n And she did it all while on maternity leave.<\/p>\n \u201cNot something most people do on maternity leave,\u201d she said. \u201cBut yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n The family named their 12-foot, 597 lb. gator \u201cChomp Norris.\u201d They plan to make a full-body rug out of it, and fill their freezer with gator sausage and snack sticks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it tastes like chicken,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n After the hunt, the Livingstons brought their gator to Cordray\u2019s, a Lowcountry family business that\u2019s been processing wild game for generations. There, workers turned the alligator into meat products and preserved it for display.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t hunt anything if we weren\u2019t going to eat it,\u201d Matt Livingston said. \u201cWe respect the wildlife just as much, and we want it to still be here for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Their children were on the boat that night, watching as their parents wrangled what they now call a \u201cmodern-day dinosaur.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll never forget it,\u201d Matt Livingston said. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine them going to school and telling their friends they helped catch a dinosaur.\u201d<\/p>\n From the Santee River to social media, and from the tailgate to taxidermy, Brittany \u201cGator Girl\u201d Livingston\u2019s story has captured the wild heart of South Carolina, where family, fun, and love of the outdoors all run deep.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see it in the back of the truck, to know it was ours, it was exhilarating,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is my alligator.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, the South Carolina alligator hunting season ran from the second Saturday in September through the second Saturday in October. Only 438 alligators were harvested statewide.<\/p>\n Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with FOX Carolina. For more free content like this, download our apps<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 WHNS. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/7DY6WOCEXZDW5DPIDCNW6SIR3Q.jpg\")
The Livingston family poses with Brittany Livingston’s gator harvest.(Kyle Dilon)<\/p>\n![\"Brittany](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PE6PJDVTZ5DVDPI5X6BM24Y26U.jpg\")
Brittany Livingston posing with her 12-foot, 597-lb. alligator in front of Cordrays Farms & Taxidermy.(Brittany Livingston)<\/p>\n