Video shows wranglers tussle with 10-foot-long alligator on Florida highway

Florida vacationers and commuters traveling along U.S. Highway 1 Monday evening may have found themselves up close and personal with the local wildlife − a 10-foot-long alligator.

The massive gator trekked along the roadway near the Florida Keys, causing a traffic snarl and leading to an intense tussle with professional wranglers. Body camera video posted online captured the struggle that ensued when Todd Hardwick and Noah Dean confronted the gator, eventually subduing him and corralling him into the back of a pickup truck.

Hardwick, the owner of the South Florida-based Pesky Critters Wildlife Control, shared a snippet of the video on his business’ social media channels Monday night.

Hardwick told USA TODAY he and Dean were called around 6:45 p.m. Monday to the scene by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which has a hotline as part of its Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP.) The Florida Highway Patrol and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the report of gator blocking northbound traffic on U.S. Highway 1, Hardwick said.

Video:A large alligator returns home to the water after slowly walking through a golf course

Traffic was shut down for nearly an hour in both directions near mile marker 126 along an 18-mile stretch that runs through the Everglades between Florida City and North Key Largo, Hardwick said.

In a skirmish that lasted about 25 minutes, Hardwick and his partner worked together to wear out and ensnare the aggressive gator, which he called “well-rested and full of energy.”

At 60 years old, Hardwick has spent 42 years wrestling with gators and other Floridian wildlife. In that time, he said he’s encountered the creatures in not just roadways, but front yards, neighborhood pools and even residential areas nowhere near water.