10 Year-Old Boy in Florida Brings Home an Alligator

This sounds like something from Candid Camera, but a 10 year-old boy in Rockledge, Florida, dragged home an alligator to impress his friends and family. This may sound outlandish, but the boy's parents and the local wildlife officers made the boy turn loose the gator. The boy, Michael Dasher, was out fishing with some friends in a canal in Rockledge, located near Cape Canaveral, when his fishing line got caught in the alligator's mouth. The 6-foot long alligator put up a fight to resist Michael but he took to beating the poor lizard with some big sticks, then jumped on top of the alligator's back to subdue it, and dragged him home.

The alligator was unhappy with being displaced from its natural home in the canal, and the wildlife officers lectured Michael on the extreme dangers of tackling an alligator and dragging one home, even if his parents would not get him that kitten or puppy that he always wanted to have. Having seen alligators in the wild, the wise thing to do is to give them a lot of space and not get close to it, even if one looks like it is sleeping in the sun. Many times an alligator will actually close its eyes as a way of saying "Please do not bother me" and may start to move away from the person present. What is mystifying about this story is, how could a 10 year-old boy clutch an alligator and drag it home? Did Michael drag it home by its tail? Michael actually had a few scratches on his hands and arms, most likely from the poor alligator who was only trying to defend himself. Then you have the age and size factor. Most 10 year-old boys are around 4 feet tall on average. Unless Michael was an exceptionally tall '" and heavy '" 10 year-old boy, one can only wonder how he was able to drag that animal to his home and leave it in the front yard.

It was Michael's grandfather who first saw the alligator in the front yard then called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to have them remove the lizard from the property. Michael may have impressed his friends, but his act was downright stupid as it could have cost him a limb, or even his life. Alligators are wild animals, and can do serious damage to people who try to wrestle around with them. Michael's parents apparently did not see the animal which is probably a good thing, but maybe they will get the clue if their son really does want a pet, and take him to the nearest animal shelter to get a dog or cat.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110526/WIRE/110529602/2416/?tc=obinsite