AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- A licensed trapper helped reel in a gator with a fishing pole after it was spotted in the surf on an Amelia Island beach.
The trapper and a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission crew used a fishing pole with a treble rig to capture the predator.
It took several times to hook and secure the animal. The effort lasted over an hour.
The gator had his mouth secured with electrical tape when he was taken away.
UPDATE: The gator has been put down and the trapper will process the gator for hide and meat. Florida Fish and Wildlife issued a license to a trapper to trap the gator and keep it. FWC said that out of 14,000 complaints of nuisance alligators last year, only 7,500 were euthanized.