Lifeguard caught alligator with bare hands on Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville, FL — “I was pretty shocked when I saw it was a gator, I was surprised,” said Nathan Bowcock, a lifeguard with Jax Beach.

Bowcock, was the guy in the video using a net to get a 3-foot alligator out of the ocean near Fifth Avenue South, Saturday afternoon.

“I wasn’t fearing for my life, but I was definitely scared the entire time,” he said.

Before that gator was captured – Bowcock was out in the water with his paddleboard trying to catch it. Thankfully, Bowcock did a little homework.

“I watched plenty of crocodile hunter when I was a kid,” he said.

He knew to grab it by its jaw, and he did it with his bare hands.

“First time I grabbed it, pulled it up out of the water, he was really not resisting too much at first, I think he was pretty worn out,” said Bowcock.

While Bowcock said he couldn’t control both the gator and the board, Animal Control showed up and brought him a net – he was then able to safely catch and bring it to shore.

And now this lifeguard has a new nickname.

“Someone called me the gator hunter,” he said.

Lifeguards said they have caught three alligators in the last 10 years.