Florida man opts to trap gator himself using recycling bin rather than calling animal control

Two words. Two words and we know we’re in for a story. Those words? “Florida Man”. When we see a headline with “Florida man” contained within, we know that the coming story is wild, interesting, and probably a bit dangerous!

pic.twitter.com/GfyFx5nErT

— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) March 4, 2019

One of the most recent and popular stories involved a “Florida man”, a gator, and a trash can.

The only thing that could rival Florida’s fame for stories is possible their fame for alligators.

Roughly 1.25 million alligators live in the state of Florida. There are more than 1,000 American crocodiles, not including hatchlings, in Florida.

With that many reptiles, it’s likely that residents are going to run into them at some point through the year!

For people who aren’t from the Sunshine State, it would be terrifying.

For natives, however, it’s just another Tuesday! Dealing with alligators usually involves just ignoring them or calling the right services when they get into a spot they aren’t supposed to be in (a pool, for example).

When one man was confronted with a situation where a gator wasn’t where it belonged, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Instead of calling the authorities for help, this “Florida Man” knew that he was well and capable of dealing with the issue himself. Taking his outdoor garbage can, he started sliding it towards the gator, hoping to trap it.

The gator started hissing and spitting as the massive object slid towards it!

For most, that sound would be enough to deter any further action – not Florida Man! Like a hero, he kept pushing the open trash can towards the reptile in order to trap it.

Even with the man’s courage, the gator didn’t go down without a fight!

Spinning, hissing, and lashing around, the gator thought he was fighting for his life against a massive creature (the trash can)! Still, it was inevitable that the man would back it into a corner and slowly scoop him in. With a few final thrashes and tries, it was finally game over.

With a final swoop, the man lifted the trash up into the air and slammed the lid shut, trapping the gator inside!

Placing his hand on top, the king was finally alone on his hill. The crowd that had gathered started cheering and whooping, clearly impressed (as we all should be)! Since releasing on Twitter, it’s been watched 6.3 million times and that number is sure to grow further.

Who knows how many crazy interactions like this happen across Florida each year!

In 2018 they gathered the data that showed at least 7,000 calls about “nuisance alligators” happened across the state. With that many official calls, who knows how many Florida Men are trapping gators in trash cans for relocation.