Published: Jul. 13, 2022 at 11:22 PM EDT
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Caught on video, a man battles an alligator with his bare hands on Savannah’s westside.
“He said sssss,” said Marquell T. White, re-enacting the sounds of the gator.
That was the moment Marquell T. White dragged a 7-foot-long gator by the tail in Bowles Ford Park.
“My first reaction was what am I doing out here,” White said.
White said it was hiding behind the swing set and he didn’t want anyone to get blindsided and attacked.
He might have hesitated, but nothing stopped him from grabbing it with his bare hands.
“It was a healthy fear, I respected the power I knew the gator had.”
The tracks of the gator from being dragged across the playground are still there and Trapper Jack, a licensed catcher for the state of Georgia saw the evidence the next day.
“We could tell something had a fight with the gator in that fenced in area,” said Trapper Jack.
Trapper Jack got a few calls in the past week of gator sightings and agrees White was lucky the gator did not attack him.
He said: “That is very, very dangerous to them and whoever else may be watching.”
White said people might joke around about him catching it, but there’s a bigger problem that needs attention from the City of Savannah.
“It wasn’t just the fact the gator was there. Gators come and go...you couldn’t see the gator because of grass and foliage.”
Alderwoman Alicia Miller-Blakely agrees and said she’s been pushing for the city to maintain the park for years.
“This park should’ve been developed back in the ‘80′s,” she said. “Somebody dropped the ball.”
Since gators are no stranger to this park, Alderwoman Miller-Blakely and Trapper Jack want people to think before approaching or taking matters into their own hands
“Nobody else can do that legally. When somebody messes with a alligator anywhere, they breaking the law.”
We couldn’t reach the city’s parks and recreation department this afternoon, but we will update the story when we get their response.
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