Copyright Live 5 News WCSC
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - When video of a massive alligator taking a ride through a McDonald’s drive-thru hit social media, jaws dropped across the Lowcountry. The couple behind that viral moment say it’s more than a trophy tale: it’s a family tradition. Brittany and Matt Livingston were the talk of South Carolina after video surfaced of a 12-foot gator hanging out of the back of their bright red pickup truck. The clip, shot along Highway 17 near the North Santee River, quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of views. “We had a lot of eyes on us,” she said. “People were waving, giving thumbs up… even the workers at McDonald’s came outside to see it.” But this wasn’t roadkill. It was the result of years of patience and planning. Linvingston had been applying for a South Carolina alligator hunting tag for five years through the state’s alligator hunting season lottery system. This year, her name was finally drawn in Unit 4, which covers the Pee Dee. “You gain preference points each year,” she said. “This year I finally had enough.” Each season, more than 12,000 people apply for just 1,400 available tags. The limited system, run by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, is designed to keep alligator populations healthy and sustainable. “The goal is not to eliminate alligators,” Jay Butfiloski, the state’s former alligator program coordinator, said. “It’s to allow some harvest, which helps manage the population and reduce nuisance issues.” For the Livingstons, the hunt itself was a wild ride. After hours of fighting the massive reptile, a final shot rang out just after 3 a.m., sealing the catch. Brittany Livingston earned herself a new nickname: “Gator Girl.” And she did it all while on maternity leave. “Not something most people do on maternity leave,” she said. “But yeah.” The family named their 12-foot, 597 lb. gator “Chomp Norris.” They plan to make a full-body rug out of it, and fill their freezer with gator sausage and snack sticks. “I think it tastes like chicken,” she joked. After the hunt, the Livingstons brought their gator to Cordray’s, a Lowcountry family business that’s been processing wild game for generations. There, workers turned the alligator into meat products and preserved it for display. “We wouldn’t hunt anything if we weren’t going to eat it,” Matt Livingston said. “We respect the wildlife just as much, and we want it to still be here for our kids.” Their children were on the boat that night, watching as their parents wrangled what they now call a “modern-day dinosaur.” “I’m sure they’ll never forget it,” Matt Livingston said. “I can’t imagine them going to school and telling their friends they helped catch a dinosaur.” From the Santee River to social media, and from the tailgate to taxidermy, Brittany “Gator Girl” Livingston’s story has captured the wild heart of South Carolina, where family, fun, and love of the outdoors all run deep. “To see it in the back of the truck, to know it was ours, it was exhilarating,” she said. “This is my alligator.” This year, the South Carolina alligator hunting season ran from the second Saturday in September through the second Saturday in October. Only 438 alligators were harvested statewide.
