Florida man uses wild method to remove alligator from swimming pool

A Florida man with a history of catching alligators used a surprising method to remove one of the creatures from a swimming pool.

Paul Bedard, a celebrity animal trapper, who starred on the Animal Planet show "Gator Boys," was called to a house in Parkland, Fla., last Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Bedard, who works with the state's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP), eventually lifted the nearly 9-foot gator above his head and out of the pool — but not before a little playtime.

The trapper said on his Instagram page that he managed to remove the animal after jumping in the water to "play around with him until he's tired."

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Got an e-gator call this morning about an 8 to 9 foot alligator in a swimming pool up in Parkland. The gator had walked through the screen and into the pool. I haven't had a good-sized gator in a swimming pool in probably a year, so I was kind of looking forward to this when I got the call. These are actually fun because the gator can't go anywhere and the water's almost always crystal clear. So all I have to do is jump in the water play around with him until he's tired and I can either hold his mouth shut and put a snare on it and tape it, or if he super energetic I can get him tired enough where I can just pick him up without the tape and carry him out in the yard and then tape him up once I get there. This guy was super mellow didn't really give me a hard time at all, I couldn't get him to spin on me he really wanted nothing to do with me. I simply made a frontal catch put a snare on his mouth and taped him up. Then finally got him to expend some energy.... I didn't want to pull him out of the water until he was tired, because he'll usually go into a death roll and smash himself up on the concrete or, if he's not taped, bite the concrete or something so it's always better to make him expend that energy in the water where is not going to get banged up. He ended up being 8 feet 8 in, and didn't really give me a hassle at all, it was basically as smooth and easy as it ever gets. Thank you Lord, much appreciated. #gatorboysalligatorrescue #gatorboys #rescue #animal #alligator #gators #gator #paulbedard #evergladesholidaypark #everglades #crocodile #croc #greatful #nuisancealligator

A post shared by Paul Bedard (@gatorboysalligatorrescue) on Oct 15, 2019 at 6:14pm PDT

Bedard described the alligator as "super mellow," telling his followers that he managed to put a snare on its mouth once the animal wore itself out. From there, he taped him up and carried him out of the pool.

While the plan might seem unusual, it's an approach Bedard said he took for the gator's own good.

"I didn't want to pull him out of the water until he was tired, because he'll usually go into a death roll and smash himself up on the concrete or, if he's not taped, bite the concrete or something," his Instagram post read.

The alligator, which Bedard named Cool Hand Luke, after the 1967 Paul Newman film of the same name, ended up weighing 185 pounds. Cool Hand Luke will now be transported back to safety in the Everglades, People reported.

Bedard's rescue comes just days before National Reptile Awareness Day, which is Monday, Oct. 21. In honor of the holiday, the trapper shared an Instagram post from himself and a gator named "Big Papi."

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