we saw that...

state record alligator

on saturday 28 august 1993 the alligator on the left was a mere 44 inches [1.1 meter] long when agents with the louisiana department of wildlife and fisheries notched its tail and placed a web tag inbetween its toes.

a scant 4,761 days later the gator had grown to a massive 12 feet 6 inches [4 meters].

In most years, LDWF marks some 40,000 to 50,000 juvenile alligators at farms around the state to be released in wetland areas.

These controlled releases ensure population recruitment for future generations. Like duck bands recovered by duck hunters, the web tags reported by alligator trappers help department biologists monitor alligator growth, survival and dispersal.

[...]

Louisiana alligator trappers have caught dozens of re-traps in the 10-foot size class, and several re-traps in the 11-foot size class; but the Tensas Parish alligator is the first to attain 12 feet in length.