S.C. Girl, 16, hunts gator with crossbow

COLUMBIA, S.C., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A 16-year-old South Carolina girl may hold the record as the state's youngest female to bag an alligator, a state alligator expert said.

Cammie Colin, who won one of 1,000 slots in an annual lottery for permission to hunt an alligator, headed out before the sun rose Sunday to hunt her prey in the headwaters of Lake Marion, S. C., The State reported.

Hunting alligators at night "takes a person who may just be a little more daring than the average person," said Jay Butfiloski, an alligator expert with the state Department of Natural Resources.

Colin's hunt was a team effort, which involved shooting the alligator with a crossbow with a line attached. The animal then pulled the boat, with five team members inside, for over an hour, until it wore out. Then family friend and guide Jay Iadonisi shot the animal in the head to kill it.

"My classmates were amazed," Colin said. "They didn't think I was serious about going gator hunting."

Colin's family now has a refrigerator full of alligator steaks, and she has a new nickname at school – "Killer."