Alligator mating season runs from April through June in Florida.
Florida residents stay on the lookout for alligators in residential areas during mating season.
And a barefoot Florida man stopped an eight-foot alligator from ruining this woman’s Easter dinner.
Experts estimate that the United States is home to roughly five-million alligators.
But 25% of the five-million alligators can be found in the Sunshine State of Florida.
Although alligators live in swampy rivers, ponds, and lakes, they are much more active during mating season and often end up in a crowded residential area.
“While gators are always present in Florida, it’s during this time of year when they are most active,” Florida Today reported. “They’ve been known to be more visible and aggressive in the period that starts at the beginning of April and runs through early September.”
When alligators make their way into residential areas, Floridians know to call Mike Dragich for help.
Dragich is an amateur MMA fighter who served in the U.S. Marines.
He’s the founder of Project Savior Outdoors, which helps veterans and first responders “forge community, ignite purpose, and defy darkness through the outdoors.”
But Dragich is well-known in Florida for his gator wrangling skills.
And on Easter Sunday, a woman interrupted Dragich’s dinner to report an alligator in her backyard.
The woman reported that the alligator was potentially eight feet in length.
She saw it sliding across her patio when letting her dog out to use the bathroom.
Since Dragich had been at dinner, he didn’t have any of his normal gator wrangling tools with him.
In fact, he didn’t even have shoes on his feet.
But Dragich successfully trapped the big alligator in an empty garbage can.
“Video shows Dragich pinned the alligator between the trash can and a fence, then scooped it up,” Myrtle Beach Online reported. “The bin also made for convenient removal, with Dragich rolling it down the driveway with the gator inside.”
Even though alligators are known for swimming, they can run up to 27 mph.
This is much faster than the average human can run.
Alligators can also jump and climb over obstacles.
They can leap five feet in the air out of the water by pushing themselves with the strength of their tail.
They’ve also been known to climb staircases, ladders, trees, and fences.
This alligator made it into the woman’s backyard by climbing her fence.
Fortunately, the entire ordeal was caught on video.
“Taking the trash out in Florida,” he wrote on Instagram. “Late last night, a woman was letting her dog out and noticed a long tail slide by her patio,” he continued. “I responded from an Easter dinner with my family and improvised using a trash can to remove the alligator from the property.”
“Thankfully, no animals or people were injured! Pay attention to your surroundings!” he added.
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