This article is about the fish. You may be looking for the episode.
The Alligator Gar is a very large species of Garfish that lives in the Southern United States.
River Monsters[]
Alligator Gar[]
During Season One of River Monsters, Jeremy Wade traveled to the Trinity River in Texas to investigate a report of a young schoolgirl being attacked by one of these monsters. Wade then went on a quest to see if he could catch a large one. During the episode a very small one actually bit Wade, drawing blood. At the end of the episode, Wade caught a very large specimen. Jeremy also notes that the gar has been around since the time of the dinosaurs.
The Alligator Gar appears once again in Mighty Rivers Season 1 where Wade catches one and also meets a man who releases these fish into the wild. It appears that the Alligator Gar on the Mississippi may come back, and combat Asian Carp.
Description[]
The alligator gar is the largest species of gar. Adults average 6 feet long, and some 100 lbs in weight, much more heavily built than its relatives such as the longnose gar. The world record specimen was 8 feet 5 inches long and weighed 327 lbs. Though some may reach a length of 10 feet, and a weight of 365 lbs!
The alligator gar is piscavorous, and are ambush predators. An adult alligator gar will eat anything from bigmouth to waterfowl.
Alligator gar are living fossils, they have been around since the Late Jurassic period 150 million years ago. Although today they are only found in the Southern United States, in prehistoric times they were found in Europe, Central America, Africa, and India.
Gallery[]
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