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A roughly 13-foot, 700-pound alligator was found in an irrigation ditch, officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said this week.

The massive reptile was found in the ditch near Lake Blackshear, Melissa Cummings, a spokeswoman for the Georgia DNR, told First Coast News.

“It’s a testament to Georgia’s alligator-management program that alligators can grow to this size,” she said. “The only way these animals get this large is by avoiding humans.”

The animal’s size apparently led many who saw its picture on social media to think the image was a “hoax.” But Brent Howze, the wildlife biologist who is seen crouching behind the reptile in the photo, said it was not.

Read more on the Fox News website.

