An episode of 'Swamp People’ inspired Dallas attorney Levi McCathern to go on a hunt for bigger game.
"Something I wanted to do was hunt something that could hunt me and alligators seemed like a challenge,” said McCathern, who has hunted since the age of six.
But huge reptiles are a far cry from hunting dove and quail, which McCathern said he hunts year-round.
As McCathern started looking for places he could hunt the large reptile, he checked the internet and typed two words -- monster alligators. One place that kept showing in the search was the Trinity River. Yes, the Trinity River, which criss-crosses much of North Texas.
Thus, McCathern decided that's where he would hunt the colossal creature.
Guided by experts two hours outside Dallas in Leon County, McCathern got his shot when a monster gator popped his head up out of the water just long enough for McCathern to pull the trigger.
"It went right in the brain... it was a perfect shot, probably my luckiest shot.”
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Weighing a whopping 900 lbs and stretching 14 ft long, McCathern's gator may be the largest ever killed in Texas history.
"They took him to the town square in Crockett and just caused a traffic jam,” said McCathern who admits his testosterone has been "very high" since the kill.
"My wife probably doesn't like it as much as she should, I've been pretty big since I killed this alligator.”
It’s the kind of trophy that makes legends of hunters, though McCathern has proven as a lawyer he’s quite the angler, landing the biggest fish in town as a client, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.
McCathern said the plan is to have the gator mounted and placed on a wall in his office where other hunting trophies adorn the walls.
Is his conquest of the giant reptile proof positive lawyers are truly sharks?
McCathern laughs at the idea, along with his new nickname.
"My name is Levi G McCathern...and everybody says it's G for Gator.”
It is against the law to hunt alligators along the Trinity River, but McCathern said he had special permission from a private property owner to go on the hunt after many of the rancher's cattle were gobbled up by the behemoth reptile.
FOLLOW-UP ARTICLES:
