SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Hunters invaded an ecological reserve in northern Brazil and slaughtered 740 alligators for their meat, officials said Tuesday.

Environmental agents discovered 8 tons of alligator meat on several barges during a routine investigation into illegal logging Monday, said Aldenira Queiroz, a top environmental official for Amazonas state.

Inspectors did not arrest the four men caught transporting the meat because they do not have police power, but prosecutors could charge them, Queiroz said.