Florida Man Pulls Massive Alligator from Pool by Playing with the Reptile Until It Tires Out

A Florida animal trapper figured out one interesting way to corral an alligator — jump in the pool and play with him.

Paul Bedard, a celebrity trapper who appeared on Animal Planet’s Gator Boys, was dispatched to a house in Parkland, Florida, that had an alligator caught in their pool, the trapper told The Associated Press on Thursday.

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Since Bedard works with the state’s Nuisance Alligator Program, he has completed his fair share of gator trappings, and knows the correct protocol to safely corral the animals.

This time, his method to pull the nearly 9-foot, 185-pound alligator out of the pool was to face the animal head on and play with him one on one.

Image zoom Gator Boys Alligator Rescue/Instagram

Bedard shared that once the alligator was tired out from all the playing, he was able to easily capture him, put a snare on its mouth and tape it shut, and move the alligator for relocation in the Everglades.

The alligator, who Bedard named “Cool Hand Luke,” after the 1967 film starring Paul Newman, was described as “mellow” by the trapper.

Image zoom Newsflare

During Bedard’s time on the Animal Planet show, he shared some tips with PEOPLE about how to stay safe in the presence of an alligator.

While there is a misconception that gators will try to attack you on land, Bedard explained otherwise.

“Sure, anything can happen,” says Bedard. “But generally, when you’re on land, they’re six inches tall and you’re six feet tall. They’re not going to mess with you. You’re more likely to get attacked when you’re swimming. They’ll see your head sticking up out of the water and think you’re the same size as a nice duck,” he shared, which doesn’t seem to scare off Bedard from frequently swimming with the reptiles.