JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Graves family have got nothing on the Irwins of The Crocodile Hunter fame, but lately they're feeling the spotlight due to the recent extraction of a 9-foot alligator in the middle of Jacksonville's Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
"There is so much publicity with this, it's kinda crazy and funny, this is literally what we do every day and someone just happens to capture it this time," Travis Graves said about Monday evening's call to duty that Henry Coleman recorded on his cellphone and posted on Facebook (Coleman gave the Times-Union permission to use the video).
And, yes, the composed little boy in shorts and T-shirt who efficiently aids him is in fact his son, Travis II. He turns 9 on Friday and has been trained his whole life for this, mother Bridget Graves said.
The 30-minute video quickly got picked up by TV and the Times-Union and went — as is trendy to say — viral.
Here's what the 36-year-old Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission contractor had to say about Monday, his son, family and livelihood.
People are interested in knowing how you and your family got into alligator trapping. Who all has participated?
"Everyone in my family, from my father to my brother and I, my wife and my kids and my nephews."
Do you corral other reptiles or animals?
"No, we only trap alligators."
Has anyone ever gotten hurt? Why do you do it?
"No, we have never been hurt while trapping alligators. We do it for fun and that we love dealing with alligators. My father got us into it and fell in love dealing with alligators and we want to pass it down to our children."
What does your wife say about it?
"She is as much a part of this as anyone. Trapping alligators is how we met. So it's in her blood as much as mine."
When did your son start learning the ropes? Isn't he afraid?
"Well, he started learning the ropes from day one literally. The day my wife and I were released with my son from the hospital, before we took him home we went straight out and caught an alligator. So you can say he has literally been doing it since birth. But on a serious note the last few years we have started letting him be a part of catching the alligators rather than watching and learning while he was younger. He is still a far way off from letting him jump the gators, but we try to let him be as hands on as we can to be safe."
Just in case some people have qualms about having him out there, what is your family's response?
"Listen we understand the seriousness of what these animals are capable of, and we have much respect for them. We would never put him or any of our children in danger, and he is not allowed to help unless we have the situation under total control and is instructed to come over to help, much like you can see happening in the video. This is an almost everyday thing so we have had a lot of practice and a ton of time put into doing this safely."
What's the biggest gator you've caught? How about the most challenging capture?
"The biggest alligator we have caught was 12 feet 6 inches long. Most captures are challenging. They all have there slight differences, but I could not pick one over another. They mostly all are in different ways."
About how often do you get called? Do you take your son all of the time, probably not with school, huh?
"It depends on the time of year. We get more calls during summer, almost one a day if not more during summer. I try to take him as much as I can since I do this after work and school hours."
What do people say when you tell them the family wrangles alligators?
"Almost everyone thinks it's super cool and frightening at the same time. We always get asked why we do this."
What other work do you do?
"Strategic Pressure Washing is my main job. I am the owner/operator of our family-owned pressure washing company here in Jacksonville."
What did you do with this particular gator and the others you trap?
This 9-foot alligator was live transferred to a farm here in Florida. It all depends on the size of alligator on what we do with it. Anything under 4 feet has to be relocated back to the wild, but anything over 4 feet has to be either dispatched or transferred to a farm capable of housing alligators."
I also have to ask what kind of car you're driving? Feels a little small, putting that gator in the trunk, haha.
"I'm driving a Volkswagen Jetta TDI (diesel), and yes we can fit 10-foot gators in there comfortably or even multiple gators on the smaller side. It does have great trunk space, hahahaha."
How many people have called or said something to you or your wife and son about the video?
"Holy cow it was crazy how many friends and family were contacting us when they seen the video. It was overwhelming. It's kinda funny because this is just a thing we do every day, so it's not that big of a deal to us. But I guess it's huge to everyone who doesn't do this daily."
