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Living Dinosaur Dream

High school senior bags Texas state record alligator

Living Dinosaur Dream
Braxton Bielski, 18, killed the Texas record alligator. (Courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife)

AUSTIN, Texas – A young hunter who grew up with a fascination about dinosaurs and a dream of hunting what some call “living dinosaurs” has harvested the largest alligator ever certified in Texas. Braxton Bielski, an 18-year-old high school senior on his first alligator hunt, bagged the behemoth 800-pound, 14-foot, 3-inch gator during a recent public hunt on the James E. Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area.

Braxton and his father, Troy Bielski, were among 481 applicants vying for 10 alligator permits issued through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public hunting program for a five-day hunt at the Daughtrey WMA.

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