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A 71-year-old Florida man is under arrest after police say he lassoed an alligator, tied it to a fence, and called 911 to report it.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert Colin on July 31 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, an hour outside of Orlando.
Colin told police he arrived at a local canal with plans to capture an alligator he had spotted, according to the arrest affidavit. There, police say Colin used a white nylon rope to “lasso” the alligator.
He succeeded, according to the affidavit, capturing the creature by its jaw and tying the rope to a handrail.
Afterward, Colin called the police and claimed he found the alligator already tied up before walking away, the affidavit said. Colin was arrested at his nearby home.
Police have since found security footage showing the 71-year-old lassoing the alligator.
Colin is charged with injuring an alligator, and was released from the Brevard County Jail after posting $2,500 bond. Colin was not present for his first hearing on August 1.
The 71-year-old told local outlet ClickOrlando that he didn’t think he was breaking the law, and that his intention was to save other local animals from the gator.
“I tied a line here because I saw a snout coming out of this pipe,” Colin said. “He hooked his upper jaw on it and he tried to take off, but it was already tied here.”
Colin also told ClickOrlando he was joking when he told police he “found” the alligator tied up.
“This is a very public area, and they feed, of course, the turtles,” he continued. “So, I thought I’d help out. That was my intention.”
