Terrifying moment: A giant 11-foot alligator pounces on workers trying to remove it from a Florida neighborhood
- An 11-foot alligator was caught by animal welfare officials after a Florida resident encountered the animal while exercising in the early hours of Thursday
- Homestead police were first called before professional trappers, Pesky Critters Wildlife Control, were dispatched to deal with the reptile
- After a hard fight, they managed to successfully capture the alligator and drag it away
Professional wildlife trappers managed to nab an 11-foot alligator snapping wildly at them in the early hours of Thursday in Florida.
They were notified after a concerned local resident came across the alligator near the Homestead Sports Complex in Homestead and subsequently contacted local police. They in turn contacted Pesky Critters Wildlife Control.
In a video posted online by the company, owner Todd Hardwick and his trappers can be seen battling the angry alligator.
The reptile can be seen snapping its jaws, lunging at its scavengers and even performing a death throw – a turning maneuver typically used to tear prey apart.
In footage captured from multiple angles, the alligator can be seen with its deadly jaws wide open.
An 11-foot alligator was caught by animal welfare officials after a Florida resident encountered the animal while exercising in the early hours of Thursday
Homestead police were first called before professional trappers, Pesky Critters Wildlife Control, were dispatched to deal with the reptile
The trappers used a variety of tools, including straps and metal bars
The trappers attempt to loop a noose around themselves to shut the jaws tight, but the alligator keeps its jaws apart despite hissing at the men.
Eventually they manage to loop a rope around the alligator before it rolls towards them quickly on the grass and then down the road.
At one point, the alligator will remain still before suddenly and without warning jumping, almost like an angry dog.
“Hold on tight so he can’t attack me so hard,” Hardwick tells his colleagues.
They finally manage to tape the alligator’s mouth shut before cops help lift the giant animal onto the back of the catcher’s pickup truck.
The early morning drama was captured by cameras from multiple angles
One worker used a pole while another attempted to harness the creature with a strap
The alligator was finally caught around 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
Although it is extremely rare for alligators to be injured or killed in Florida, alligators longer than 4 feet are considered a nuisance and pose a hazard to people, pets, or property.
According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report through the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP), there are 113 contract hunters in the state who capture troublesome alligators and respond to 10,000 calls a year.
Once the alligators are caught, they become the property of the trapper, who they can either sell for their fur or meat, or sell them alive to raise in a zoo or on a farm.
According to the FWC, all of Florida’s 67 counties have healthy alligator populations, but so-called “nuisance alligators” are not released into the wild because their reintroduction can lead to territorial fights and deaths between other alligators.
All of Florida’s 67 counties have healthy alligator populations.
The trappers had to keep a certain distance when trying to attack the reptile
The animal stayed calm and calm before suddenly going into a lunge
It was a complex capture for the Pesky Critter Wildlife Control capture team
They finally manage to tape the alligator’s mouth shut before cops help lift the giant animal onto the back of the catcher’s pickup truck
After a hard fight, they managed to capture the alligator and tow it away in a pickup truck