A 13-foot alligator shot at Millwood Lake has been confirmed as an Arkansas record.

Mike Cottingham hunted the reptile in September and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has confirmed it is the largest gator taken since the state opened alligator hunting in 2007.

The beast's official measurement is 13 feet, 3 inches long.

The Texarkana Gazette reports (http://is.gd/fCSngI ) that Cottingham and three friends fought the alligator for 20 minutes before being able to shoot him.