WATCH: Barefoot Florida Man Battles 10-Foot Alligator on Highway

A barefoot Florida man wrangled a 10-foot alligator on the highway as cars continued to blow by, and it’s on video.
The event took place on Interstate 95 in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. The wrangling was a joint event by several local agencies, including the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Florida Highway Patrol. Of course, the star of the show is the 10-foot gator and the alligator wrangler who caught the reptilian beast.
“Only in Florida… ,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook, sharing a video of the momentous event.
“If you were cruising down I-95/I-295 on the Southside yesterday and thought you saw a barefoot man wrestling a giant alligator in the median — nope, your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. That really happened,” JSO wrote.
“Your #JSO joined forces with Florida Fish & Wildlife, the Florida Highway Patrol and none other than local gator-wrangling legend, the Blue Collar Brawler, to wrangle this beast off the road and keep everyone safe,” JSO continued, adding, “Just another totally normal day in the Sunshine State. ”
Indeed, the video shared by JSO shows the barefoot man — Mike Dragich, known as the Blue Collar Brawler — barefoot, wearing a camouflage ensemble, and prodding the beast, which was visibly irritated, before getting it under his control. Video shows him sitting on top of the alligator, then lifting it up with the help of another individual. All the while, traffic on I-95 continued to blow by.
Someone off camera can be heard saying, “Never in my wildest dreams!”
WATCH:
“I knew he was serious when he walked up barefoot,” one Facebook user commented.
“It’s the outfit for me,” another said as one added, “Barefoot on the side of the highway is CRAZY.”
“He was a fat alligator and he’s a male and he was out looking for a female,” Dragich said, according to First Coast News. “I’m shocked that he made it across the main road. Four lanes of 95 traffic in the heat of traffic.”
“I’m always barefoot,” he told the outlet. “I live life barefoot. It is better to catch alligators barefoot than with something on your feet.”
First Coast News added that Dragich is a “marine veteran and a man of faith” who “shares his outdoor expertise with local veterans and first responders to help them combat veteran suicide.”
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