Florida man captures alligator spotted in Bristol Township’s Magnolia Lake
The nameless gator was captured by Kyle Asplundh, a crocodile rescuer.
Gone fishing … for an alligator?
That’s what happened to Ricky Sánchez, who posted Instagram videos of himself fishing in Bristol Township’s Magnolia Lake on Thursday when a small alligator tugged onto his fishing line.
“I swear to you, I got a … alligator. … No way bro. A baby gator. It’s going to break my line,” Sánchez is heard shouting from a kayak in his first video, which has been viewed more than 403,00 times.
In the second video, Sánchez paddles closer to the alligator, who side-eyes him from just above the water before police officers are filmed arriving.
“Grab it,” the officers instructed Sánchez to do. He responded cheekily.
Profanities fly in both videos.
The Bucks County township’s police department confirmed the sighting on Facebook on Thursday evening, asking residents to avoid the creek for the time being.
“We have been made aware of a small alligator that is swimming in the area of Magnolia Lake,“ the Bristol police wrote. ”We have notified the Wildlife and Game Commission, who will be addressing this situation."
Neither Sánchez or the Bristol Township police department could be immediately reached for comment, though the latter did a quip for the alligator-obsessed.
“If you’re looking to check out some alligators, we’ve heard there’s a great exhibit at Adventure Aquarium in Camden,” they added on Facebook.
Commenters were not as amused. “Y’all wouldn’t last an hour in Florida,” wrote one user. “I’ll go catch it if you’re afraid,” wrote another.
Sánchez told Fox29 that he intended to pull the gator out of the water and would’ve been successful had the reptile not broken his line.
“I didn’t believe it with my own eyes. I thought it was a big fish. … I was excited about a fish then I got excited for an alligator,” Sánchez said to Fox29. “My heart wanted to come out.”
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission does not regulate the possession of non-native reptiles, which means there is no state permit required to own an alligator. Bristol Township, however, prohibits keeping “wild or exotic” animals — including alligators or crocodiles — outside of designated facilities such as zoos.
The nameless gator was captured Thursday night by Kyle Asplundh, a Florida-based crocodile rescuer who was visiting family in New Hope and heard about the four-foot long reptile swimming around Magnolia Lake. Naturally, his Instagram username is @crocodilekyle_6.
“I was able to quickly put eyes on the animal, but it was rather shy due to several other individuals in the location. ... The alligator retreated to a thick patch of lilies which actually worked out in my favor to sneak up on him,” Asplundh posted to Instagram on Friday.
“Once I was able to secure him,” Asplundh continued in the caption, “I proceeded to head to the bank where I was met with three park rangers that were very respectful and appreciative for taking care of their problem.”
Asplundh told the Bucks County Courier Times that the gator will be quarantined on his family’s property in Bucks County before being transported to the sanctuary Asplundh runs in Jupiter, Fla. There, Asplundh said, the animal will joined by more than 350 other rescues.
See ya later, Bristol Township alligator.