A badass great-granny killed a 580-pound alligator she claims was responsible for eating her miniature horse – and now aims to turn her prize catch into a pair of boots.
“One shot in the head and he just went under,” Judy Cochran boasted to USA Today.
Cochran, 73, sought revenge on the 12-foot swamp creature for gobbling up her equine pet three years ago at her ranch in Goodrich, Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“We think this is the gator that ate one of our miniature horses several years ago. As big as this gator was, he could’ve easily eaten it,” said Cochran, who used a roadkill raccoon on Sunday to lure the beast. “Typically the gators don’t bother us, but we’ve been looking for [this one].”
Gator hunting in Polk County is permitted between Sept. 10 and Sept. 30 but hunters must have a permit and the animal must first be hooked.
“We don’t just go to the ranch and hunt a gator,” said Cochran, who was recently elected as mayor of Livingston, a small city north of Houston.
Gator hunting runs in the family. In 2009, Cochran’s then-5-year-old grandson, Simon Hughes, shot and killed a gator in the same pond that was even bigger – 800 pounds and more than 12-feet long, the Chronicle reported.
Cochran said every part of the reptile will be put to good use, thanks to a local taxidermist.
“We’ll eat the meat, have the head mounted and have the ridgeback part of the tail in my office,” she explained. “We’ll have the hide tanned to make some boots out of it, you can only make boots from the belly.”
Cochran has a lot to brag about besides her massive kill – she is also a newly minted great-granny.
“Don’t mess with Nana!” she joked.


