BOYNTON BEACH, FL (WPTV/CNN) – A police officer captured an alligator on the patio of a home so he could release it back in the wild – and a body cam recorded it all.
Officer Alfredo Vargas didn’t want a trapper to kill the animal. But the gator was not overly cooperative.
“It was a little aggressive, obviously, and didn’t want me near its space,” he said. The alligator was backed against a glass door that led into the home and had a defensive reaction.
It was not an average call for Vargas, but it was one he had trained for. In 2004, he took a tour of an alligator rescue facility and wanted to learn more.
“I just thought it was pretty cool and looked exciting, so ….” He said.
Thirteen years later, he put his training to good use.
On the video, you can hear a clicking noise, which was Vargas imitating the sound of baby alligators.
“It normally gets alligators to react because it they’re very protective of their young,” he said.
He tried to get the gator away from the door, but the slipped up several times. So he went to plan B.
“I just try to cover its eyes, calm the alligator down a little bit,” he said.
It worked. The gator stopped fighting him and Vargas was able to grab it with his bare hands.
He didn’t have to take the alligator very far. He took it to a canal that was just a few miles away.
Vargas said he wasn't’t scared at all.
Once he got the to the canal, Vargas took the tape off the gator’s mouth and put it back in the water.
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