Gators aren’t typically front yard guests—unless you’re in Florida and living right across the street from a small lake surrounded by green shrubbery. Maybe the gator heard there was a barbecue and decided to try and join his neighbors.
But he knocked on the wrong door.
This video opens with a scene not too shocking at first. But that’s just because the gator blends in well with the neatly placed garden mulch on this Florida man’s front lawn. He steps in from the right side of the screen, casually dressed in socks and sandals, and basketball shorts.
He’s holding a large, outdoor trash bin with the opening faced away from him as he approaches the gator (seemingly without an ounce of fear). This man is on a mission. The gator starts backing away, and he and the man engage in a little game of cat and mouse, except with their eyes locked on one another.
You can hear multiple people behind the camera, shouting words of caution as the man keeps approaching the gator, angling the trash bin just right to try and capture him. He asks for help from those who have a better vantage point to ensure he doesn’t miss his chance.
With one swift move, he lunges the trash bin forward, capturing the front part of the gator’s body. But the gator won’t give up without a fight. He backs away wildly, trying to escape when the Florida man slams the trash bin’s lid on top of the gator’s head.
The small crowd erupts in screams.
Stunned by the apparent jaws bigger than his, the gator tries to back up but gets intercepted by the lid. He bucks around and ends up going further into the bin. Without hesitation, the Florida man begins lifting the bin to an upright position, all while the gator’s tail flaps about from the opening.
It takes a lot of strength and the coolness of a cucumber to bring that bin upright and close the lid completely. Once the gator has been secured safely within the trash bin, onlookers step forward with cameras in hand, celebrating and praising the Florida man.
The man with a plan starts rolling the trash bin across the street to release the gator close to its home. He’s careful as he makes his way onto a curb, with his left hand on the bin’s handle and his right hand securing the lid closed.
He backs toward the small lake while the crowd stays close behind, still in disbelief, and clamoring about his bravery. The man gets as close as he can to the shrubbery, dumps the trash bin forward, and takes off in a sprint away from the opening.
The gator, likely still stunned, takes a while to get his bearings. The man returns for his trash bin startles the gator, and the gator shimmies forward, disappearing behind the shrubs.
The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/LagunaticPhoto
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