The South Carolina alligator hunting season, which ended in early October, brought in applications from nearly every corner of the U.S.

The season, which spanned Sept. 13-Oct. 11 , is important for maintaining ecological balance across the state. This year, hunters slayed more than 450 alligators, with the potential for more harvest kill reports still to come, according to a state Department of Natural Resources official.

That’s around 60 more gators than the year prior , somewhat in part due to the fact that officials issued an additional 200 permit tags this year as a result of a new category of gator sizes that hunters were required to comply with.

South Carolina is home to an estimated 100,000 alligators, the majority of which live in the Midland and coastal regions south of the

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