A barefoot Florida man took on a massive alligator on the side of I-95 in Jacksonville, and the gator didn’t stand a chance.
Mike Dragich, 36, is a Marine veteran, MMA fighter and licensed alligator wrangler for the state.
The Sunshine State is known for its gator population. There are an estimated 1.3 million alligators in Florida, and they are found all across the state, inhabiting all wild areas that can support them.
But sometimes these apex predators wander too close to people’s homes, busy roadways or commercial centers. In these cases, they are considered ‘nuisance alligators’ because they pose a threat to human safety, pets and property.
When someone reports a nuisance alligator on their property, officials call in trappers like Dragich to capture it.
On Sunday, he was enjoying dinner with his family when he received a call about a gator who trying to cross I-95 that got blocked by the median.
A viral video shows Dragich arriving on the scene wearing no protective gear — or shoes for that matter. The ‘Blue Collar Brawler,’ as he calls himself, was dressed simply in a camo sleeveless shirt, camo shorts, sunglasses and a baseball hat.
He approached the gator without hesitation, and then the two faced off.
Licensed alligator trapper Mike Dragich, 36, took on a massive gator along the side of I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday, and the beast didn’t stand a chance
Dragich kept nail-bitingly close to the giant reptile at all times, despite the fact that his feet, legs, arms and hands were completely bare and unprotected.
He made several attempts to loop his catch pole, a long stick with a noose attached to one end, around its neck.
At first, the gator evaded capture, thrashing in the grass and gnashing its enormous teeth at Dragich.
But before long, he managed to snare the alligator’s neck, then dragged it off the median and onto the shoulder of the highway.
Once there, Dragich jumped onto the alligator’s back and sat astride it, pinning it down with his body weight and the catch pole.
He grabbed the gator’s massive jaws and lifted its head to duct tape them shut. Then Dragich used the catch pole to flip the beast over, and lifted it into his arms with an assist from a Florida state trooper, who lifted its back-end.
An average 10-foot-long alligator can weigh between 400 and 600 pounds.
Dragich and the officer carried the gator over to a white pickup truck and hefted it into the bed.
Dragich sat on the alligator’s back, pinning it down with his body weight and the catch pole. He then grabbed the gator’s jaws and lifted its head to tape them shut
Then he stood and used the catch pole to flip the beast over
Viewers of the widely-shared video amazed — and somewhat disturbed — by what they saw.
‘I’d want shoes if I was going to trap an alligator. Probably why I don’t trap alligators,’ one X user commented.
‘Bro that is crazy!! I cannot believe this man had the b**** to walk barefoot in the median of a Florida interstate,’ another wrote.
Others expressed concerns for the wellbeing of the gator.
‘That’s so sad. I don’t know how he can be so gleeful about terrorizing that animal. They said just send someone to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart. Much more humane,’ one X user wrote.
Once trappers capture an alligator, the animal becomes their property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
‘In most cases, the alligator is processed for its hide and meat, which is the primary source of compensation for their services,’ an FWC spokesperson previously told WINK News.
Dragich lifted the gator into his arms with an assist from a Florida state trooper, who lifted its back-end. An average 10-foot-long alligator can weight 500 to 600 pounds
Dragich and the officer carried the gator over to a white pickup truck and hefted it into the bed
‘Occasionally, a nuisance alligator is sold alive to an alligator farm, animal exhibit, or zoo,’ they added.
Alligator trapping is a part-time, relatively low-paying job in the state of Florida. So some will sell gator products made from the ones they capture to supplement their income, according to the FWC.
But even so, ‘the income earned from the sale of alligator products may not be enough to support an individual or family,’ the agency states. ‘Most nuisance alligator trappers have other sources of income.’
To become a certified gator wrangler, all you need to do is purchase an alligator trapping license, which costs $272 for Florida residents, and apply for the job on the FWC website.
These professionals don’t undergo traditional training like other animal control officers.
Instead, they learn through hands-on practice and rely on experience, knowledge of alligator behavior and adherence to regulations to safely capture these creatures.
