Alligator wrestling is an attraction, that later evolved into a sport, that began as a hunting expedition for Native Americans. It has been described as "Alligator capturing techniques". Usually, the alligator wins and the person wrestling with it does not walk off unscathed.

Native American historical origins

Southeastern Native Americans hunted Alligators as a food source for thousands of years. At the turn of the 20th century, Showing off alligators as road side attractions helped Native Americans generate revenue. Long before the first Europeans explorers wandered into the Florida Everglades, alligator wrestling existed. For tribes like the Seminole and Miccosukee, learning how to "handle" the reptiles was part of their existence.

Alligator description

American alligators are mostly found in the Southeastern United States, from Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia/North Carolina south to Everglades National Park in Florida and west to the southern tip of Texas.

A large adult American alligator's weight and length is 800 pounds (362.9 kg) and 13 feet (4 m) long , but can grow to 14.5 feet (4.4 m) long and weigh over 1000 pounds (453.6 kg). According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 in 5 in (5.31 m), although according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site the Florida state record for length is a 14 foot male from Lake Monroe

Lake Monroe (Florida)

Lake Monroe is one of the lakes that make up the St. Johns River system. The port city of Sanford is situated along the southern shore, while DeBary and Deltona are located along the northern shore. Two major central Florida roadways that run near the lake are State Road 415 and Interstate 4...

 in Seminole County. Alligators have an average of 75-80 teeth.

See also

• American Alligator
  American Alligator
  The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
  
  
• List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States by decade
• Miccosukee
  Miccosukee
  The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962...
  
  
• Seminole
  Seminole
  The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...