Tom GantertPalm City, FL – Two Florida men were arrested after video surfaced of them capturing a baby alligator and forcing it to drink beer (video below).
The police report said that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had received a complaint in August about 27-year-old Timothy Kepke trying to goad a baby alligator into biting his arm in a video, the TC Palm reported.
The complaint also said Kepke had poured beer into the reptile’s mouth.
Police questioned Kepke on Sept. 17 and he confirmed he was the man in the video they were investigating.
He also said that his friend, 22-year-old Noah Osborne, had caught the baby alligator with his bare hands along Ranchwood Street in Palm City at about 10 p.m. on Aug. 26, according to the TC Palm.
Kepke told police that after Osborne caught the alligator, Kepke tried to get the alligator to bite him and then poured the beer into the tiny reptile’s mouth.
He told police that afterwards, they released the baby alligator, the TC Palm reported.
Kepke said he wasn’t drunk when they messed with the alligator, although he had been drinking when the incident occurred.
He also told investigators that a female friend had also been present when the video was made, the TC Palm reported.
The female friend confirmed to officers that she was there and said she thought the baby alligator had bitten Kepke because what he had done to it had made it angry.
Both Kepke and Osborn were arrested and charged with unlawfully taking an alligator on Oct. 3, according to the TC Palm.
They were booked into Martin County jail but released later the same day on $5,000 bail and $2,500 bonds, respectively.
You can see their video below: