Alligator bites biologist

I hesitate to tell this story, but oh well.

A week ago my grade level took our students to a local alligator refuge (it's the place that used to do Gator911 on TV). We took the tour and got a chance to visit with the owner. It is currently breeding season and he was telling us that makes many of the gators very aggressive (he had already been out on 4 calls that morning to pick small gators up). During our lunch time one of the workers came over and told him there was an escapee in a small retention pond in the back. He went back to go get it and invited us to watch him catch it. He and 2 helpers used a fishing rod to hook around the gators back leg and tried to pull him close enough to shore to get a lasso around his mouth. He told me afterwards it turned out to be bigger than he originally suspected. He fought getting it close to the shore for about 20 minutes. They finally got it roped by the tail (they couldn't get to the mouth) and pulled it out. When the three started dragging it back to its pen they were having trouble. A dad and I had to jump in and help them pull it across the park to the pen.

It was pretty exciting and my kids thought it was cool. I wouldn't attempt trying to do that without help or without someone that knows what they are doing. I for sure wouldn't have done it like the guy in the video. that guy was asking to get bit.