Stay informed with the LNN Daily Newsletter

Trapper plays with ‘gator until it tires, pulls it from pool

Oct 17, 2019 | 11:50 AM

PARKLAND, Fla. — A Florida animal trapper says he corralled a large alligator by playing with it until it got tired after it hopped into a residential swimming pool.

Celebrity trapper Paul Bedard, who is contracted with the state’s nuisance alligator program, said Thursday that he was dispatched to a house in Parkland, Florida.

Bedard said he was able to pull the nearly 9-foot (2.7-meter) animal out of the water once it grew tired from playing with him in the pool on Wednesday. He put a snare on its mouth and taped it.

He described the reptile as “mellow” and named it Cool Hand Luke after the 1967 film starring Paul Newman.

Bedard said the alligator weighed 185 pounds (83.92 kilograms).

Bedard starred in Animal Planet’s reality show “Gator Boys.

The Associated Press

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.