A group of Alabama hunters are celebrating the catch of a lifetime: A 4.5-metre-long alligator weighing more than 450 kilograms.

Al.com reports the monster gator was pulled from the water in south Alabama early Saturday during the state's alligator hunting season.

Alabama Alligator

The alligator weighed 450 kg. (Sharon Steinmann/AI.com/Associated Press)

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries biologists were able to measure the alligator, but weighing it posed a challenge.

The first attempt completely destroyed a winch assembly used to hoist most average gators. So they had to use a backhoe to lift the animal.

The alligator is the largest ever legally killed by an Alabama hunter. It was caught by Mandy and John Stokes, Kevin Jenkins and his children, 16-year-old Savannah and 14-year-old Parker.