Video: Barefoot Florida man helps capture large gator along busy interstate
'Blue Collar Brawler' helps catch gator on highway
Video shows the barefoot Florida man known as the Blue Collar Brawler helping wrangle a large gator in the median along I-95/I-295 in Jacksonville. (Courtesy: Blue Collar Brawler.)
TAMPA, Fla. - The Blue Collar Brawler can add another gator to his list of captures, as the famed barefoot gator trapper helped deputies in north Florida catch a "beast" roaming along I-95 while drivers whizzed by.
The backstory:
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says the gator was spotted along the median of I-95/I-295 in the Southside area of Jacksonville on Sunday.
"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 said in a post on social media.
Video shows the Blue Collar Brawler – a licensed gator trapper whose real name is Mike Dragich – helping the sheriff's office, Florida Fish & Wildlife and the Florida Highway Patrol wrangle the large alligator.
What they're saying:
"It definitely gets my blood, my heart pumping and my blood flowing, the adrenaline going. I've done it quite a bit, so I feel confident in what I'm doing with these animals. I know how they move. That's not the same for everyone, so you've got to be careful, never approach these animals," Dragich said.
Dig deeper:
Dragich has 362,000 followers on Instagram and has made headlines before for his barefoot gator-trapping efforts.
Last summer, he helped firefighters catch a gator that had wandered into a Jacksonville fire station.
The Source: This story was written with information and video from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Blue Collar Brawler.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
- Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV
- Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android
- Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines
- Download the SkyTower Radar app
- Sign up for FOX 13’s daily newsletter