Alligator vs. trash bin: Watch a brave man in Florida trap an unwanted visitor
A man in Florida may have revolutionized the way we capture alligators. He used a trash bin.
After video spread on social media of him Tuesday bravely confronting an alligator outside a home, the unconventional wrangler became internet famous.
How famous? Even “The View” cohost Ana Navarro weighed in, reposting the video and writing, “As a Floridian, I demand to know. Somebody, please tell me why this isn’t an Olympic sport?”
The man who got so much attention is Abdul Gene Malik, who promptly started a GoFundMe, asking for money and offering his unique trapping services to anyone in need. The page is based in Mount Dora, and organized by “Philly Gator,” his nickname.
In the clip, the amateur wrangler, wearing just a T-shirt, shorts and sandals, shows zero fear as he comes at a medium-size alligator with a waste container on wheels as the reptile reverses.
“Watch out Watch out!” someone off camera screams. A woman laughs nervously.
Malik approaches the hissing alligator and scoops it up with the container as its tail flaps violently. He then smacks the lid on the gator’s head.
Seemingly stunned, the gator is suddenly scooped up into the container, Malik pulls the bin upright with the animal trapped inside, closes the top, and wheels it away. People laugh, cheer and howl.
The man rolls it down a grassy hill, grappling with the unwieldy container, almost falling.
“Let him go, bro!” a bystander yells. “Let him go!”
Malik then drops the container on its side, and the alligator slips into bushes as the hero collects the can to applause and runs like hell. A body of water looks to be nearby.
Despite the heroics, the Philly native’s GoFundMe Wednesday morning had only raised $30 of the $20,000 goal.
“I was faced with a life or death task that made me decide whether it’s me and my family or the gator,” the caption reads with a screenshot of the faceoff. “I am a combat veteran that struggle(s) to make ends month to month. Fortunately enough, everything happens for a reason. I will be using this support to help my family and numerous other families to remain gator FREE.”
The GFM adds that all gators “will be released safely back into their environment, miles away from any residential areas.”
Though this individual’s feat was incredible, it’s not advisable. There are professionals to deal with such matters if you ever encounter a gator in a residential neighborhood.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has the Nuisance Alligator Hotline, 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286) for such matters; a contracted trapper will resolve the situation.
In other words: Don’t stuff the alligator in a trash can.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 2:36 PM.
