Watch: Alligator Rescued After Soccer Ball Gets Trapped in Mouth

A wildlife company was recently called to rescue a giant alligator that had a soccer ball trapped inside its mouth in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

According to neighbors, the reptile reportedly had the soccer ball stuck inside its mouth for a couple of days, WBTW News reported. James Sargent, who works for The Snake Chaser, responded to the call to help the troubled alligator on Saturday, July 6. Sargent shared the challenging operation in a Facebook video, which showed the alligator thrashing in the water as Sargent and another employee tried to remove the lodged soccer ball from its mouth.

Once Sargent arrived at the scene, he initially thought the alligator wasn’t alive, however, the animal started making movements within a few minutes. Sargent, who has worked at the wildlife company for more than a decade, said helping the alligator wasn’t easy.

“He was a little bigger than we were expecting,” Sargent told WBTW News. “He was able to get me down into the water. The first time I was ever in the lake for a gator.”

According to Sargent, this alligator was 8 feet long and only had one eye. And, getting this massive animal under control required a few steps.

“I have to physically catch him like a fish, bring him close enough to where we can then get the snare on him,” Sargent explained. “Once we get the snare on him that’s connected to a rope so then we got a good hold on it.”

Once the alligator relaxed a bit, Sargent and his partner were able to free the soccer ball out of the animal’s mouth and allow it to swim back in the retention pond.

More on Geek.com:

• Florida Police Discover Live Baby Alligator in Bag During Traffic Stop
• Alligators Seen ‘Dragging Body’ Into Lake in Florida
• Man’s Hand, Foot Discovered in Florida Alligator’s Stomach

The post Watch: Alligator Rescued After Soccer Ball Gets Trapped in Mouth appeared first on Geek.com.

from Geek.com https://ift.tt/2S2Ngtf
via IFTTT