My husband is an avid fisherman, and when his parents come down for the weekend, he and his Dad usually go fishing. Today, Jason took him to a new lake, and they just happened to discuss the alligators that were in said lake on the way there.
So they're fishing away when an alligator spotted Jason's lure and began to chase it. His Dad, who is one of the most brilliant people - and typically the voice of reason, decided he wanted to grab the thing by the tail as Jason lured it up to the boat. Jason told him it wasn't a good idea, but his Dad kept insisting that an alligator, like a snake, couldn't double back on itself. We know for a fact that a baby snake CAN double back on itself ; we used to have them as pets and have witnessed it many a time. Most baby/adolescent animals (and humans) are far more flexible than the adults. But his Dad wasn't having any of it...he was going to catch that alligator come hell or high water.
Jason finally lured the thing up next to the boat and instead of grabbing it by the end of the tail, which was the original plan, he ended up grabbing it just behind the hind leg. Big mistake. The thing swung around and latched onto his hand. 
It wasn't too bad, but Jason insisted that they go to the emergency room to have it looked at, just in case. Some skin glue, gauze, tape, an Rx for antibiotics, and one tetanus shot later, he was as good as new. BUT. They had to scheme up a story to tell my Mother-In-Law because she was going to be royally p!$$ed that he had done something so ignorant.
Upon arriving back at the campground, they told her that he was trying to catch it as a pet for Susanna - they rarely tell her "no" which I usually don't mind. (Susanna loves all animals, but a 3 foot alligator running around the house fetching a stick is where I draw the line). Well, this upset my kid so bad that she promptly tossed her cookies. 
What would possess someone to do such a thing?! |