Man Rescues 9-Foot-Long Alligator From Swimming Pool

Florida man and former Animal Planet star Paul Bedard became an internet sensation after photos of him lifting a 9-foot-long alligator over his head while rescuing it from a pool in Parkland began making rounds on social media.

Bedard was called to a home in Parkland on Tuesday after a woman found the alligator languishing in the family pool. She immediately called the nuisance alligator hotline, who in turn called Bedard. The woman’s husband had earlier spotted the alligator walking across the street while he was on his way to work. However, he decided to ignore it “because it’s Parkland, Florida.”

“About an hour later the gator decided to walk through a screen and into the swimming pool and the wife was not as accepting of the gator’s presence as the husband was so she made a call to the nuisance alligator hotline and they gave me a call,” Bedard told Fox News.

When he reached there, he saw the alligator, which according to Bedard, was mellow and it did not give him a hard time trying to catch it.

“This guy was super mellow didn't really give me a hard time at all, I couldn't get him to spin on me he really wanted nothing to do with me. I simply made a frontal catch put a snare on his mouth and taped him up. Then finally got him to expend some energy....,” he wrote on his Instagram post.

The alligator was so mellow that Bedard even decided to name him 'Cool Hand Luke.'

“He was mellow when I caught him. I named him ‘Cool Hand Luke’ because the gator was so mellow and so cool. He didn’t try to get away from me, he didn’t try to come after me, he was just really cool. He’s got a real mellow personality,” Bedard said.

Bedard, who has been working with alligators for almost 30 years, said that he had not encountered an alligator of this size in a pool for more than a year.

“I haven't had a good-sized gator in a swimming pool in probably a year, so I was kind of looking forward to this when I got the call. These are actually fun because the gator can't go anywhere and the water's almost always crystal clear,” he said.

The entire operation was smooth and it took about 20 minutes to rescue the alligator. Luke would now live with the other alligators that Bedard rescued at Everglades Holiday Park.

He documented his catch on Instagram, sharing seven photographs of the incident. The photo of Bedard lifting the alligator over his head is reminiscent of the scene from Dirty Dancing where Johnny and Baby practice for the talent show.

Bedard was the star of Animal Planet Show 'Gator Boys,' filming wild traps for TV. He and his coworker Gabby Scampone now rescue alligators in and around the Florida area under the name 'Gator Boys Alligator Rescue'. Unlike many trappers, Bedard intends to save the gators rather than harvesting them.