Alligator Wrestling in Florida 1936 Chevrolet Leader News Newsreel Vol. 2 No. 2

more at http://quickfound.net/

'Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including:

...FLORIDA WRESTLES WITH HIS PET ALLIGATOR...'

Originally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_wrestling

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Alligator wrestling is an attraction, that later evolved into a sport, that began as hunting expeditions by Native Americans...

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 roadside 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.

We had to live off whatever Mother Nature provided us in the Everglades ... We'd eat the tail, the meaty part. Later on, when the alligator skin had a value, we would hunt and skin the gators and bring the skin to trading posts and trade for things we couldn't grow.

— Max Osceola, a Seminole tribal councilman.

In Florida

A common symbol of Florida in popular culture is the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). The St. Augustine Alligator Farm was one of Florida's earliest themed tourist attractions that opened for business in 1893. At the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other tourist attractions such as Gatorland and the Silver Springs Nature Park, "taming" or hypnotizing alligators was a popular trick, along with other performances such as alligator wrestling...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States, with a small population in Mexico. It is one of two extant species in the genus Alligator within the family Alligatoridae; it is larger than the only other living alligator species, the Chinese alligator.

Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.6 m (11.2 to 15.1 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 453 kg (999 lb). Females are smaller, measuring 2.6 to 3 m (8.5 to 9.8 ft) in length. The American alligator inhabits freshwater wetlands, such as marshes and cypress swamps from Tamaulipas in Mexico to southeastern and coastal North Carolina. It is distinguished from the sympatric American crocodile by its broader snout, with overlapping jaws and darker coloration, and is less tolerant of saltwater but more tolerant of cooler climates than the American crocodile, which is found only in tropical climates.

American alligators are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Hatchlings feed mostly on invertebrates. They play an important role as ecosystem engineers in wetland ecosystems through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other organisms. Throughout the year (in particular during the breeding season), American alligators bellow to declare territory, and locate suitable mates. Male American alligators use infrasound to attract females. Eggs are laid in a nest of vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud in a sheltered spot in or near the water. Young are born with yellow bands around their bodies and are protected by their mother for up to one year.

The conservation status of the American alligator is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Historically, hunting had decimated their population, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from endangered status in 1987. The species is the official state reptile of three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi...