A barefoot Florida man was seen wrangling an alligator off Interstate 95 near Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday, April 28.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office posted a video of Mike Dragich, also known as the Blue Collar Brawler on social media, wrestling the giant alligator in the median of I-95/I-295. The sheriff’s office worked with Dragich, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Highway Patrol to remove the reptile from the road.
“If you were cruising down I-95/I-295 on the Southside yesterday and thought you saw a barefoot man wrestling a giant alligator in the median — nope, your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. That happened,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Facebook post read.
In the video, a barefoot Dragich used a pole to engage the alligator. After the animal snapped and whipped its tail, Dragich wrangled the gator onto the shoulder of the highway. He then muzzled the animal, all while cars sped past him in both directions.
Dragich and another responder moved the animal off the highway shoulder and put it into the back of a pickup truck.
“Never in my wildest dreams,” an off-camera voice said, as Dragich, who’s dressed in an all-camouflage outfit, just laughs and shouts in excitement.
Dragich later posted the same video to his Instagram account, which has a total of 381K followers. “Why did the alligator cross the road? 🐊‼️⚠️,” he jokingly captioned the video.
Alligators are common in the South, from Florida to southern Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
Alligator attacks, especially unprovoked attacks, are relatively rare since the animal is naturally afraid of humans, according to the experts at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is advised never to approach alligators, regardless of size, or feed the wild animals.
In potentially alligator-infested areas, always keep a close eye on your surroundings and dispose of food scraps safely. If you do see an alligator, keep your distance.
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Representatives for Mike Dragich, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Wednesday.
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