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Meanwhile in Florida: Army Vet Scoops Up Alligator With Recycling Bin, Hopefully Won’t Emerge as a Purse (Video)

Normally when we report on Florida Man, it’s all bad news. Someone got drunk, someone got hurt, someone did something incredibly stupid. But today’s Florida Man report actually involves some clever, quick thinking.

US Army veteran Eugene Bozzi was in the garage with his nephew when he heard a ruckus outside. That’s when he daughter, who had been riding a bike nearby, came in and said, “Hey this big alligator just hissed at me!”

“I went over there and it was bigger than me. There were other peoples’ kids out there, also. Military instinct kicked in — and, you know, ‘protect at all costs.’” he told The New York Post.

So he grabbed what he had handy, which happened to be a plastic recycling bin, and rolled it towards the gator. The animal waddled in reverse while hissing until it arrived at the end of the driveway. That’s when Bozzi scooped it up into the bin, rolled it down a hill, and dumped it out. The gator scampered off into the bushes.

All of this was caught on camera, and the video captioned “crazy day in Florida” quickly went viral on social media. Check it out:

 

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A post shared by Abdul Gene Malik (@norfphilly_geno)

The hero — who was applauded by onlookers — said he selected his weapon of choice on purpose, because it was “big enough to scare him into thinking that’s a mouth.”

“I watch a lot of ‘Animal Planet’ videos, and he’s going to think that I’m like a hippo or something,” he said. “He didn’t put up a big fight. I could’ve been more aggressive, but I don’t like to hurt animals so I took him down safely, and everything worked out.”

You can say that again. Luckily for the gator, he wasn’t actually recycled and turned into a fashionista’s new purse.

Cover Photo: Instagram

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