Wrestling alligators for education,‘ Don’t talk software?. . . tell us about your old job ’

WATCH YOUR FINGERS: Doug Rosen in his former days as an alligator wrestler at Reptile Gardens in South Dakota in 1982. Little tricks included putting the alligator’s head down below its body, which put it to sleep, and holding the alligator’s mouth closed with one hand. Alligators have an immensely powerful jaw, yet only when biting down. Picture supplied

WHILE most students have a job or two to help fund their way through university, wrestling alligators might be a step too far.

Yet for Florida native Doug Rosen, it was the ideal summer job. That and milking rattlesnakes.

Mr Rosen was in Gisborne recently, implementing new software at The Gisborne Herald. Wherever he ends up, he finds people would rather hear about his student job.

Drawn in by a fascination with reptiles, his career began at age 15 at the Reptile Gardens in South Dakota, which has the largest reptile population in the world.

“My parents instilled in me a responsibility from an early age that if I wanted something, I had to work for it.”

Rather than join his mates flipping burgers, he decided on something a little more adventurous.

He began on the “less dangerous” tasks, such as milking rattlesnakes and, as he gained experience and grew stronger, the manager suggested he have a go at wrestling the alligators.

He was more than excited at the prospect.

“I knew that was the one that got all of the women.”

Wrestling the 'gatorsHis job involved grabbing an alligator from the water, wrestling it onto its back and opening its mouth wide for the hordes of tourists to take photos.

He only had one accident, while wrestling the “meanest” alligator, Snagglepuss.

While he had his hand under its mouth it suddenly bit down on his thumb. He heard the bone crack and blood streamed down his arm.

The audience, not quite realising what had happened, continued to cheer. He had a snake show to do after that, so he just put his hand in the dirt to stop the bleeding and carried on.

While he is aware that wrestling might seem cruel to some people, he has enormous respect for animals and felt a strong responsibility to look after them.

“There is a way to properly do it without hurting the animals. I was always really careful not to hurt them.”

The alligators he wrestled were medium-sized — about 1.8m long and weighing 130 to 150 kilograms.

While even those are very strong, he notes the huge difference between alligators and crocodiles, which he would never go near.

Mr Rosen continued in the job until he was 21, while he studied mass communications in Florida. He travelled back to South Dakota over the summer holidays.

What got him rattledThe reptiles never scared him, it was the large crowds that had his nerves rattling.

“I had never spoken to large groups before. The job forced me to be social.”

While he has no desire to get back into the profession, the experience has helped him in his career.

“I learned you cannot simply jump into something — you have to make sure you are prepared.”