The official state alligator hunting season begins Monday at 5:00pm.

Nearly seven thousand permits have gone out to people who want to try their luck at hunting the reptile.  More than one-point-three million alligators live in Florida.  The Coordinator for the Alligator Management Program for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Tallahassee, Harry Dutton, said the commission extended the hunt by four hours each day of the hunt.

“This is what was ultimately provided to the commission as a compromise to what was asked for by the hunting community which was to hunt alligators anytime during the established season to other constituencies that like to look at the resource and enjoy it and also enjoy the waterways that hunting occurs on to find a balance between all these different recreational uses.”

Dutton said alligators are thriving in Florida with more than one point three million of them currently in the state. Each permit issued allows each person to take two alligators.