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© Dan BrownMary Ellen Mara-Christian with the 1,025lb, 13 foot alligator she hooked in Lake Moultrie, South Carolina
She is just 5ft5in tall and weighs a little over 115 pounds.

But when Mary Ellen Mara-Christian spotted a 1,025 pound, 13-feet alligator, she wasn't going to let a little matter like size get in the way.

The 48-year-old embarked on a two-hour, titanic battle with the gigantic creature after sighting it in Lake Moultrie, South Carolina.

She was eventually able to reel it in on a heavy duty fishing pole before shooting it.

But the .22-calibre gun wasn't enough to finish off the monster and she eventually delivered the coup de grace by severing the beast's spinal column with a knife.

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© SplashThe party had originally believed that their quarry was about 10-feet long
'He was just a big old gator,' Mrs Mara-Christian, who had gone alligator hunting with her husband Mark, said.

'I had no idea he was that big. We didn't get him on the boat.

'Once we got him settled down, we were able to tie him to the side of the boat and we were able to dispatch him.

'The whole fight was over in a couple of hours.

'I came down to South Carolina hoping for a 10-footer and I just lucked out (to get) one of the biggest ones people have ever seen.'

The Mara-Christians, who were helped by Lake Moultrie guide Kevin Davis, were in the area for South Carolina's alligator hunting season.

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© Splash NewsIt took two hours to haul the alligator in before Mrs Mara-Christian killed him with a hunting knife
Around 1,000 licences are granted for the month-long event with each hunter allowed one alligator a year.

Mrs Mara-Christian is intending to have her prize kill, a male between 60 and 70 years old, stuffed so she can display him.

She has already hunted black bear, deer and other animals.

'Every animal that we hunt is a different experience,' she said. "It's hard to compare one with the other.

'But this was truly a great experience, like I said, probably the hunt of a lifetime.'