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Most people would assume a story involving a shirtless man attempting to wrangle an alligator in the parking lot of McDonald’s would take place in Florida. However, that was actually the scene we were treated to in Georgia after one of the animals caused a stir in the parking lot of a McDonald’s.
America is home to ten states where alligators can be found in the wild. Louisiana leads the way with an estimated population of two million (Florida, which has around 1.3 million, is the only other to surpass the seven-digit threshold), while Oklahoma brings up the rear with the relatively tiny group of 100 that roam near the border of Arkansas and Texas.
Georgia ends up in fourth place on that list with the 200,000 gators that are primarily found in its southern half (below the “fall line”). The city of Macon, which is essentially located smack dab in the middle of the state, isn’t exactly a hotbed compared to areas closer to the coast, but it’s in the vicinity of the Ocmulgee River that serves as a passageway for animals looking to make their way inland.
There’s apparently a McDonald’s in Macon that has become a bit of a haven for gator sightings, and we were treated to a pretty wild scene courtesy of one that attracted a sizeable crowd that managed to work together to tame it.
A 12-foot alligator was captured by authorities outside of a parking lot in Macon, Georgia after a shirtless man unsuccessfully attempted to corral it himself
There were 11 alligators captured in Marcon in July alone earlier this year, a spree that coincided with the mating season that runs from April to the start of September. Sightings tend to subside by the time fall rolls around, but that doesn’t mean they’re non-existent—as evidenced by the scene we were treated to on Sunday.
According to WMAZ, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a McDonald’s on Rocky Creek Road to respond to the report of an alligator that had made its way into the parking lot of the restaurant located right near the banks of the Ocmulgee River.
The 12-foot-long creature managed to attract a number of bystanders who got closer than they probably should have, including one man armed with a piece of rope and a PVC pipe he used in a collective wrangling effort that saw another guy successfully duct-tape its mouth shut.
Police chastized those amateur trappers for putting themselves in harm’s way before a licensed one arrived on the scene on Sunday evening to transport the gator to a private pond in an adjoining county. However, you have to give them credit where credit is due for successfully subduing the beast without a single person losing a limb.