Huge gator filmed in Wheeler Refuge

This gator was filmed swimming in Flint Creek on Wednesday.

Jeff Hatfield of Hartselle brought home much more than a big fish tale when he returned from a fishing trip on Flint Creek Wednesday.

He spotted a 14- to 16-foot alligator lying on a log on a bank of the creek behind the old Wallace Center in Decatur, and watched as it slipped into the murky water and swam away.

Sound like a tall tale minus evidence? Not this time. Luckily, Hatfield had a camcorder in his 16-foot fishing boat and uses it to capture the gator’s movement on film.

The signing and filming took place at abut 9:30 a.m.

“I got as close as 20 feet from it as I was filming,” Hatfield said. “It was huge—probably as long as my boat – and plenty mean looking. I’ve seen gators in the refuge before but nothing like this one.”

Hatfield said he followed the gator in the water and filmed it for about 15 minutes before it submerged when another boater cranked his engine.

Although the date shows Sept. 29, this film was shot on Wednesday.