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G/A/F : Man Finds 9-Foot Alligator in Backyard Swimming Pool

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Kaladin

Member
When a Florida man walked into his backyard Tuesday afternoon to see if a stray golf ball had found its way into his swimming pool, he found something much larger -- a 9-foot alligator lying at the bottom of the pool.

Lakeland resident Craig Lear, 38, lives on a golf course and assumed the bubbles he saw in his pool were from a ball that had been hit into it. "He thought, 'Why are there bubbles in the pool?'" his 37-year-old wife, Laura, told ABC News today.

At first, the stay-at-home dad couldn't make out exactly what the large mass at the bottom was, since the water was grainy due to the pool's pebble-stone floor. When he got closer, however, he found a nearly 300-pound alligator submerged in the deep end, Laura said.

"I hear stories about gators, but never at my house," she added.

After making sure their son and three cats were accounted for, Craig called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who connected him with 13-year veteran alligator trapper Scott Barbon, Laura said.

The gator laid low in the pool until Barbon arrived, but once he placed a lasso around its neck, it began "thrashing around" so much that it caused giant waves to splash onto the concrete floor surrounding the pool, Laura said.

"We didn’t know what the gator would do," she said, calling the situation "nerve-wracking."

It took about an hour for Barbon to drag the gator out of the pool, he told ABC News. "They’re pretty tough animals," Barbon said.

The alligator was ultimately euthanized and processed for its meat and hide, Barbon said, adding that Florida is home to millions of gators.

Barbon, who was seen in photos trapping the gator sans shoes, said his bare feet are the "best pair of shoes" he has when on the job.

“I don’t wear shoes because my feet get wet and my shoes get wet," he said. "So, I stopped wearing them."

HT_gator_02_as_160302_4x3_992.jpg


HT_gator_03_as_160302_4x3_608.jpg


http://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-man-finds-foot-alligator-backyard-swimming-pool/story?id=37356292

This was an easy one....as a bonus, another Florida Man trapped it barefoot.

I searched, throw me in the pool if old.
 

Mohonky

Member
Australia and Germany don't have Alligators.

Plus if it was Australia, its be someone having a beer with it.
 
Gators only exist in North America, which kind of makes the whole G/A/F thing point considering G stands for Germany and A for Australia. If it was Georgia and Alabama you'd have more of a game. Also this isn't that weird especially if you live close to a body of water in Florida. There used to be a stretch of I-75 that there was a risk of hitting a gator. The things are everywhere.
 

Red

Member
"Millions of gators" sounded like too many. Google tells me estimates range from 1.3 to 2 million.
 

Lulubop

Member
Gators only exist in North America, which kind of makes the whole G/A/F thing point considering G stands for Germany and A for Australia. If it was Georgia and Alabama you'd have more of a game. Also this isn't that weird especially if you live close to a body of water in Florida. There used to be a stretch of I-75 that there was a risk of hitting a gator. The things are everywhere.

Let em know.
 

gwarm01

Member
You know there is a real art to making GAF threads. You want to surprise your audience. "G/A/F child is bitten by koala" or "G/A/F teens locked in underground sex dungeon for seven years" are other examples of poor choices.
 
Barbon, who was seen in photos trapping the gator sans shoes, said his bare feet are the "best pair of shoes" he has when on the job.

“I don’t wear shoes because my feet get wet and my shoes get wet," he said. "So, I stopped wearing them."

????
 

Rygar 8 Bit

Jaguar 64-bit
youd think if you lived in a area where gators can invade your pool youd think youd build i dont know a fence of some kind maybe
 

Philia

Member
I find it hilarious that now gator is on the food menu now. A coworker of mine tried it and said it basically tastes like chicken.
 

Cerium

Member
I find it hilarious that now gator is on the food menu now. A coworker of mine tried it and said it basically tastes like chicken.

It's very lean and kind of tough. A gator is almost pure muscle. Not really anything special.
 
I could have sworn that there was another G/A/F thread just like this one.

EDIT:
Ah yes. That one was about Florida Man tossing an alligator into a Wendy's.
 

Red

Member
I've had fried gator nuggets and gator andouille sausage. The nuggets were pretty good. The sausage had this slick rubbery texture that made them hard to get through. They were like giant frog legs.
 
Gators haven't survived for this long without mastering the art of fence climbing.

1449775760-alligatorclimbsfenceWEBSITE.jpg
No shit, alligators are perfectly capable of climbing. They've been observed countless times climbing trees to get to better basking location.

They had to kill it because it would have just kept coming back, they are very territorial.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
There used to be a stretch of I-75 that there was a risk of hitting a gator. The things are everywhere.

Wait, what? What stretch of I-75?

they cant be contained? we are fucked

They're survivors from the Jurassic (and older IIRC) era. So, alligators, uh... alligators find a way.


You've never had flooded shoes? They take DAYS to dry out, and during that time they suck to wear. I don't blame him.
 

Aselith

Member
Ugh, did they really have to murder the Gator for just chilling in the pool.

No shit, alligators are perfectly capable of climbing. They've been observed countless times climbing trees to get to better basking location.

They had to kill it because it would have just kept coming back, they are very territorial.

Apparently gators are all about no take backs
 
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