A young boy, trapper and gator on Jacksonville road: What we know about capture

A Jacksonville man captured quite a spectacle on his cellphone Monday evening: A massive alligator in the middle of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

But that wasn't necessarily what went viral. It was the young boy with the trapper who was called to deal with the beast and the way he methodically went to work helping his father.

In the 30-minute video posted on Facebook by Henry Coleman, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office first attempts to force the gator from the road with their vehicles. After it instead slowly stakes claim to a spot under a police cruiser, the trapper comes to the rescue with his long catch pole with a noose.

Here's what we know.

How big was the alligator captured on April 1 on a Jacksonville road?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission estimated the alligator was 9 feet long.

Who shot the video of the alligator on MLK Parkway?

As of about 2 p.m. Wednesday, Henry Coleman's video "Kid captures big ass gator on MLK" reached nearly 555 shares and 340 comments, among them "Only in DUUUUUUVALLLLLLLL."

For his part, Coleman responded to the Times-Union that "I was amazed how well the kid did assisting his father with the alligator."

What did the trapper and boy do with the alligator on MLK?

As the gator flashed its teeth with its jaws opened wide, the trapper was able to secure the noose around its neck. He pulled it out as it spun over and over again in what's often called a death roll and dragged it to a steel street sign to be secured.

The boy was observing the whole time — along with a crowd of onlookers — and was handed the catch pole to keep it restrained as the trapper sat on top of the alligator and began to secure its mouth shut. The boy then took over from in front swiftly and adeptly taping its mouth closed with electrical tape.

Next the man dragged it to his small car and singlehandedly hoisted it into the trunk.

What do we know about the trapper and boy who captured the alligator in Jacksonville?

The Times-Union confirmed they are father and son, and the boy turns 9 on Friday. The sign on his car is too far away in the video to read what company he is with, but the wrangler did respond to someone's question that he's been doing this for 12 years.

An email from his wife said their whole family traps gators for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and "my son has been doing it literally his whole life!" The Times-Union has asked some follow-up questions for a separate story.

The Times-Union also requested the report from the Sheriff's Office, but it responded there wasn't one filed.

What happens to alligators once they're trapped in Florida?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program “uses contracted nuisance alligator trappers throughout the state to remove alligators from locations where they are unwanted or unwelcome," according to a March 13 article by The Dayton Beach News-Journal.

An alligator is considered a nuisance if it's at least 4 feet in length and believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property, according to the commission. Captured alligators that fall under the nuisance criteria are then euthanized, the article stated.

Relocating these reptiles is not an option, as alligators “often try to return to their capture site,” the News-Journal reported.

What happened to the alligator on MLK Parkway?

The good news for this alligator is that this one was given a second chance.

"On April 1, 2024, a contracted nuisance alligator trapper for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to a report of an alligator in the road in Jacksonville," the commission said in a statement to the Times-Union. "The 9’ alligator was captured and live transferred to an alligator farm. Nuisance alligator trappers are contractors and are not state employees."

How often do alligators bite people?

"Alligators seldom bite people for reasons other than food," according to a Fish and Wildlife factsheet on alligators. "Female alligators may protect their nests by hissing and opening their mouths to frighten intruders but rarely bite people. Alligator bites are most likely to occur in or around water. ... Although alligators can move quickly on land, they are not well-adapted for capturing prey out of the water. However, they can lunge at prey within a few feet of the shoreline."

They also are opportunistic feeders and sometimes will go after pets that may be near their territory.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Young boy helps trapper capture alligator on busy Jacksonville road