Gator Wraastling

Gator wrestling has become a tradition with the Seminole's.  It was done and is still done for tourists and today at the museum it was done for 100 elementary school kids.

I hadn't yet had the opportunity to see some good ol' gator wrestling (pronounced wrastling if you are from the south).  It was amazing!  Alligators are not the type of animal to mess with.  They are extremely strong and faster on land then in water.  This particular alligator was captured in the wild the other day and was not very happy to be the center of attention for the screaming school children.  Mr. Walker is a pro and it was more than impressive to watch.

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Yes-- The gator's mouth, full of razor sharp teeth, is being held shut by Mr. Walker's chin

After he "tamed" the alligator they taped his mouth shut so no one would lose any limbs.  I can just imagine the school teacher having to call home to Jimmy's mom saying, "Ummm...Jimmy lost his finger today.  It was bitten off by an alligator."

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As soon as they taped the gator's mouth shut, it made a sprint for the picnic tables.  There was a shockingly loud scream that came from the kids, all of them big eyed and mouths wide open.  But Mr. Walker took care of it ( I secretly think he let the gator loose on purpose.  Nothing like a good scare to straighten out a misbehaving kid).

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The alligator was even put into a trance when he was rolled onto his back and his belly was rubbed.  His arms and legs were moving wildly in the air and all of a sudden they just slowly fell to his side and he relaxed. Just like a puppy.

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The kids even got to take photos with the alligator.  I bet he didn't wake up today and think he was going to end up on some 5th grader's Facebook page.  His 15 minutes of fame.

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Just a typical day at work