VIDEO: Florida man uses bare hands to remove 8-foot alligator from busy road

Dhamia Faleh, Gulf Today

A licensed Florida alligator trapper Mike Dragich, a.k.a. the “Blue Collar Brawler” uses his bare hands to capture an 8-foot alligator that wandered onto a busy Jacksonville road.

The alligator was terrorising passers-by on the streets of Jacksonville's Northside on Sunday evening.

Dragich, 34, a former soldier was participating in a hockey match with his family when he received a call from the Sheriff’s Office informing him that there was an alligator in the area, but he did not have his equipment with him.

Despite this, he rushed to locate the alligator near a shopping center.

Dragich walked quietly behind the alligator, then grabbed it with his bare hands and feet, pinned it to the ground, and closed its mouth with a duct tape, amidst people screaming.

He commented: “Five minutes passed after the hockey match and I received the call. I went to catch the alligator and returned to the match.”

“A lot of wrestlers understand what I’m saying. You feel nervous before you enter the cage, but as soon as the door closes, you focus and defeat your opponent.”

April is the beginning of the mating season for alligator and crocodiles, so they appear often, and Dragich, who is followed by thousands on Instagram, is responsible for catching them in the state famous for its abundance of crocodiles and alligator, but his greatest fame is due to his establishment of a non-profit foundation to treat veteran soldiers from depression and suicidal thoughts through activities outside the home, and he comments: “We aim to make them a community that challenges dark thinking.”