Man Applies Unusual Tactic To Stop Rampaging Alligator

“It was spur-of-the-moment thinking,” Bozzi later told the New York Post. Bozzi seemingly is the kind of person who jumps into action when needed — especially when those in need are his family. Right before this incident, he had just been hanging out with his nephew in his garage. And that’s when his 11-year-old daughter said something he hadn’t been anticipating.

“Hey, this big alligator just hissed at me!” she exclaimed to her dad. Bozzi naturally thought she was exaggerating about the size of the reptile outside the house. But then he peeked outside and saw that it was bigger than Bozzi himself. The animal’s sheer scale worried the army vet — but it didn’t keep him from carrying out his plan.

“There were other people’s kids out there,” Bozzi told the Post. “Military instinct kicked in — and, you know, ‘protect at all costs.’” But the Florida man probably didn’t want to freak the kids out, either. “I said, ‘No, I’m removing it because he’s probably hungry,’” Bozzi explained to USA Today. Yet he wasn’t really sure how the animal was likely to react.

“The only thing that came to my mind was to protect my kids and the other children outside,” Bozzi told USA Today. But the veteran knew he wanted to remove the alligator from his yard without harming either himself or the reptile. “I don’t know the procedures, so I did it my own way,” Bozzi said to NBC affiliate WESH.

Others may have considered getting rid of the animal once and for all, of course. But Bozzi — who is also known as Abdul Gene Malik — later told CBS that he’s a major animal-lover and believes in treating animals with respect. Still, while showing kindness to animals is always a good quality, there’s no telling if wild animals will act the same way toward humans.

And as it happens, this huge alligator isn’t the only animal that Bozzi has needed to try to remove from his home. He has also had an encounter with another long reptile that he wasn’t keen on having in his yard. Bozzi shared that terrifying animal confrontation on his Instagram page, too.

The Insta-video shows Bozzi walking down his Orlando street using a white towel to carry a snake away from his yard. As he moves away from his yard, Bozzi keeps the creature as far away from himself as he can. "Damn snakes in the house and grass lol," he wrote as the video’s caption.

Funnily enough, the animal lover is wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and Adidas slides as he returns the snake to a safer location. And the sportswear firm was so impressed with Bozzi’s work that it even mentioned him on its Twitter feed. “Some heroes wear capes, others wear slides,” the company tweeted. There could be some sponsorship work in this man's future...

After all, the outfit this Florida resident happened to be wearing on "The Day of the Alligator" also added to the moment. To the delight of social media users later watching the alligator-removal plan play out, Bozzi wore a white T-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and slides. “He had no intentions of failing,” observed InfiniteStylz on Twitter.

“I present to you Exhibit A: flip-flops and white socks (for increased speed, balance, and leverage). Exhibit B: Solid Black Durag (because, why not?). This combination causes any person to level up and become cool, calm, and perform under pressure,” InfiniteStylz tweeted. And Bozzi certainly seemed to have all the mobility and traction he needed in the next few minutes. 

Footage of Bozzi’s daring attempt at DIY animal removal quickly found its way to YouTube — and international acclaim. The video clip shows Bozzi sliding an open, wheeled recycling receptacle on its side toward the alligator. Friends and neighbors watched on with bated breath, as several filmed the incident on their cell phones.

In the footage, Bozzi moves the container along the sidewalk — and the alligator hisses at him. But still Bozzi inches closer and uses the container’s opening “like a hippo mouth” to corner the animal. The creature backs up along the length of the closed garage door away from Bozzi... but it doesn’t move fast enough to escape. The daring would-be trapper then appeals to the crowd of people watching him work.

Bozzi asks one of the people to tell him when the alligator’s head is inside the receptacle. And when that happens, Bozzi pushes the container forwards around the reptile. Then Bozzi lifts the container onto its back wheels, trapping the gator safely inside. “I was frightened when I had it in it because it was so powerful,” the army veteran later admitted to WESH.

“And I didn’t expect that, it was pushing out, whipping its tail around,” he continued. The footage reveals Bozzi rapidly rolling the alligator-filled container away from a cheering crowd of onlookers. Across the road, there’s a swamp — which is likely where the predator had emerged from.

A hill leading to the water’s edge only aids Bozzi’s descent. So when he reaches the bottom, he flips open the container, simultaneously pushing it on its side and beating a rapid retreat. The massive alligator immediately pops its head out and sits at the opening of the plastic receptacle without moving. Now there was one more thing for Bozzi to do.

Instead of waiting for the alligator to recover, Bozzi decides to snatch back his recycling container. But this forces the mammoth reptile to move. And as Bozzi sprints away from the creature, pulling the container behind him, the predator slithers back into the tall grass that lines the edge of its swampy home. Finally, it is out of sight of the awestruck onlookers.

Bozzi’s neighbors were impressed by the dad’s actions. “I would have been gator food, I would have fainted,” resident Denise Sparks said to WESH. “I said, ‘What in the world is going on?’ I heard boom boom boom.” She was inside her home while Bozzi was ridding the area of its pesky unwanted visitor.

After the incident, though, Bozzi credited his fatherly instincts for motivating him to deal with the alligator. He also felt his military training helped him remain calm in the face of a threat. And while the Florida resident had been spurred on by the desire to protect his loved ones, he never wanted to harm the animal.

Besides being a self-styled “Alligator man,” Bozzi has also earned the “Florida man” title as well. As you probably know, if someone lives in the Sunshine State and does something crazy, it’s famously often reported with an attention-grabbing headline using the “Florida man” format. Examples might include “Florida man killed by alligator while hiding from cops” or “Florida man desperate for ride to Hooters calls 911.”

While being a “Florida man” isn’t necessarily always a badge of honor, it’s also not something that just anyone can achieve. A person truly has to do something extraordinary to register among the outrageous acts committed by other Floridians. And while this Florida man’s animal capturing capabilities are far better than most, other Floridians also accept unwanted dangerous critters as just another part of life.

However, not everyone is foolhardy enough to trap the creatures themselves. Take the people who discovered a 16-foot predator lurking in the shadows of their cellar. As they approached the beast — a staggering 16 feet long and 165-pound creature — they realized it wasn’t alone.

The pair who’d discovered the interloper knew they would need expert help in removing this beast. But when a specialist came to the house, he was also taken aback by the size of this thing. Even with his professional experience, the expert had rarely seen anything quite like this before. What were they going to do?

The predator wasn’t just deadly to humans, you see. It’s also a recognized threat to local wildlife. It's been known to devour possums, rabbits, bobcats and deer. And, alarmingly, a critter this size has the ability to tackle prey larger than even that. On one occasion, another of its kind was spotted feasting on a 7-foot-long alligator!

The two men first encountered this lethal specimen beneath a home on an island in Florida’s Everglades. And they ultimately decided to call in local conservationist Ron Bergeron. Ron’s work has earned him the moniker “Alligator Ron” – but his alligator expertise would do him no good here. Much different action was needed.

And whatever the men did, it wasn’t going to be easy. The beast confronting them had actually crawled underneath the floorboards of an old camp house. Plus, there was the small issue of the predator not being completely alone. So instead of rushing headlong into attack mode, Bergeron took time to contemplate his next move.

Another major thing concerning Bergeron was the geographical location of this beast. He’d seen other specimens in Florida, of course – but never this far north. In fact, he claimed that most of these creatures lived ten or even 20 miles south of where this one had made its home. That was bad news for the Everglades.

Why? Well, Bergeron was keen to impress upon Everglades residents that this predator was invasive. It simply did not belong in this area. And because the creature has such a big appetite, that means it will be a danger to much of the native wildlife. Considering the other animals that live here, this could be disastrous.

After all, Florida residents share the land with the area’s wilder inhabitants. Visitors may get a glimpse of manatees swimming in the waters, for instance, or bobcats and white-tailed deer roaming the pastures. Those with keen eyes may even spot members of more threatened species, such as the Florida panther or the American crocodile.

Many of the over 350 bird species native to the area are also incredibly rare. The large but graceful wood stork has been deemed by the U.S. government as endangered, for example. This wading bird casts an elegant silhouette and is beloved by both bird watchers and nature photographers.

Also registered on the threatened or endangered lists are the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, the Everglades snail kite and the red-cockaded woodpecker. Birds, however, are not known to be a threat to humans. So, what lurks in the Florida swamps that may pose a real danger to any person in the vicinity?

Well, although the West Indian manatee is perhaps the most distinctive Everglades resident, the placid mammal is more a gentle giant than a menace. These animals lumber softly through the water and may seek out humans both for company and a source of warmth. Manatees also mostly take their nourishment from aquatic plants. So they’re not something Bergeron has to worry about.

In fact, humans are much more of a threat to the manatee than they are to us. These sea creatures are so leisurely in their movements that they can prove vulnerable to passing dangers. For instance, they’re sometimes too slow to avoid speeding boats, which can maim or kill any animal in their paths.

And while the manatee is also on the endangered species list, arguably the rarest creature to be found in the Everglades is the Florida panther. These wild cats were once desirable trophies for hunters – meaning, unfortunately, that they were almost wiped out entirely. Conservationists believe that fewer than 100 of these animals now remain in their natural habitat.

Yet the same cannot be said of some of the other Everglades residents. The Florida black bear, for instance, is considered one of the most dangerous animals in the state. It is endangered, however, and members of the species are seldom spotted in the national park. So you won’t find this guy lurking in any cellars.

Many visitors to the Everglades may also be unaware that its waters may host sharks. Yes, there are some varieties – such as lemon sharks and blacktip sharks – whose body functions can adapt to the fresh waters of Florida’s swamps. And, unfortunately, they include one of the most dangerous species around.

We’re talking about the aggressive bull shark, which can sometimes be seen patrolling the Everglades’ channels as well as the mouths of rivers and cruise coastlines in search of prey. However, while these beasts are known to ambush humans, they typically prefer to feed on much tinier animals.

Elsewhere in the Everglades’ water, certain types of fish can pose a threat to humans. They can sometimes be attracted by anything eye-catching — such as jewelry — that swimmers may be wearing. This can provoke the fish into assuming that there is prey in the water. Marlins, meanwhile, are more of a danger to fishermen in the area.

Some underwater attacks may come completely by surprise, too. For instance, while the needlefish may seem relatively unassuming – typically coming in at around a foot in length and less than a pound in weight – its razor-sharp mouth is a hazard. And although this creature is not known as a human predator, it’s still capable of causing damage.

Needlefish usually travel close to the surface of bodies of water near the coast where it’s warm. However, if they’re fleeing predators or chasing their prey, they may “take flight” for brief periods and rise to the top. Anything that gets in the needlefish’s way, then, may just feel how sharp its mouth is.

Then there’s the box jellyfish – the ocean’s most venomous inhabitant. There are between 20 and 30 varieties of this creature, which can measure anything from under an inch to ten feet. Regardless of the box jellyfish’s size, though, it should definitely be avoided, as victims can die after experiencing the pain of its sting alone.

And perhaps the most famous Everglades predator is the alligator. The reptile can easily be confused with the crocodile, of course, although there is an easy way to tell them apart. Simply put, an alligator has a round, broad nose. Alligators are also more common across Florida, while crocodiles live only in the most southerly regions of the state.

Crocodiles can be just as vicious as alligators, too, although the American variety is less aggressive than many of its counterparts from around the world. And while alligators tend to strike only when they feel threatened, they should nevertheless be avoided as well. Bergeron and his team would be happy to avoid any of these!

In fact, the creature Bergeron discovered in the basement was itself a threat to much of the Everglades’ native wildlife. It was a breed of snake called a Burmese python — and one of its kind had once been reported to have swallowed an alligator whole.

At 165 pounds and around 16 feet long, the python was the second largest that Bergeron had ever seen. From nose to tail, the snake was merely a foot away from being the longest ever measured in the state. Perhaps most terrifyingly of all, though, the female predator was protecting a nest of at least 50 eggs.

And this frightening reptile was found underneath a house in Broward County that sits four miles from Alligator Alley. Alligator Alley is an 80-mile stretch of highway that dissects the Everglades National Park, and as its name suggests it’s a prime location for gator spotters. The native wildlife in the area is under threat, however, from the Burmese python.

The Burmese python typically has a placid nature, and – combined with its attractive skin – this makes the species a favorite among snake owners. But these snakes can grow quickly and can get incredibly large. Then, when they become too much for their handlers, they can become aggressive. Attacks, then, are not unheard of, and some have been fatal.

The snake’s diet consists purely of meat, with birds and small mammals primarily featuring on the menu. As the python’s vision isn’t too good, however, it relies on heat receptors lining its jaws and chemical sensors on its tongue to close in on its prey. And killing for the Burmese python is an act of brute strength.

You see, the Burmese python is a constrictor, meaning it will wrap its body around its chosen victim after having gripped it between its teeth. Then the snake will crush the breath out of its prey until it’s dead. And as the Burmese python’s jaws are so flexible, it’s able to gobble its meal up in a single piece.

Young Burmese pythons are frequently found in trees, although slivering up trunks become more awkward after they have matured. As these creatures can come in at around 23 feet and 200 pounds, however, they can practically be the size of a tree themselves. In fact, these snakes have been described as growing to as thick as a telephone pole.

So, all of this makes the Burmese python one of the biggest — and deadliest — snakes in the world. Even more alarmingly, the snake is an expert swimmer capable of remaining underwater for half an hour before coming up for air. But while this may make the Everglades’ swampland fertile ground for the species to thrive, there’s a problem.

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia rather than the wetlands of the Florida Everglades. And while these reptiles were first introduced to the area over two decades ago when snake enthusiasts snapped them up, members of the species didn’t always work well as domestic animals.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, some of these pets escaped – or were released – into the wild. So the Burmese python is now considered an invasive species without any natural predators to keep the population in check. And owing to the snake’s appetite for native mammals, fauna in the area is now in peril.

In 2019 Bergeron explained to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “The Burmese python poses a significant threat to the Florida Everglades by disrupting the natural food chain.” But the conservationist’s actions prevented an influx of this apex predator. As you’ll recall, the snake in the Broward County home was female and guarding a nest of around 50 eggs.

And, worryingly, a number of the eggs were actually cracking open as Bergeron surveyed the nest site. “With good fortune, we were able to find a large female and remove her and an entire nest of up to 50 baby snakes, which would have continued killing off our precious habitat,” Bergeron told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Interestingly enough, no license is required to hunt Burmese pythons, nor are there are no restrictions on when they may be pursued. Some have even turned the tracking of these snakes into a sport, with the annual Python Challenge encouraging members of the public to capture as many of the slithery pests as possible.

Local wildlife trapper Mike Kimmel – a self-avowed “python cowboy” – has proved himself particularly accomplished at ridding the area of the snakes. Competitors hunted 80 of the invasive species during the 2020 Python Challenge – and Kimmel bagged eight. Yet it’s made scarcely a dent in a population estimated to be in the tens of thousands in the Everglades.

Kimmel found the going hard, too. In a January 2020 Instagram post, he wrote, “I hunted ten days straight, covering thousands of miles of levees and woods [and] sleeping in the swamp when not hunting.” That said, the incentive to track down these snakes can be huge.

Those who hunt for a living can expect a return of a few hundred dollars in government payouts for every python captured. Then, once the snakes are euthanized, they can be used in other ways. For instance, Kimmel gives snake meat to the wild hogs on his property.

The Burmese python’s skin can also be used to manufacture luxury goods such as purses, boots and wallets. Typically, these reptiles have tan-colored outsides that feature dark patchwork similar to that of a giraffe. And while these markings are non-uniform, they nevertheless appear to slot together – much like elements of a jigsaw.

And as research has shown that a rise in python numbers has coincided with a significant decline in wildlife native to the Everglades, winning the battle against the snakes may be crucial in keeping this part of the state at its best.