A self-proclaimed "gator whisperer" is out of jail Thursday night after wildlife investigators said he was getting too close to the creatures.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said they received a tip last week that a man calling himself the "Gator Whisperer" was offering potential customers the opportunity to get in the water with alligators for $250.
Undercover FWC officers responded and found 51-year-old Hal Kreitman in the southern Everglades, getting in the water with a mask and fins and swimming with the alligators, officials said. Kreitman allegedly had customers with him in the water, swimming with the gators.
Investigators arrested Kreitman and charged him with violating fish and wildlife regulations and harassment of a protected species.
"I knew FWC was going to do something, maybe give me a fine or something, had no idea I was going nto be out in handcuffs for that," Kreitman told NBC 6.
He later posted a $2500 bond and got out at the Monroe County jail on Plantation Key. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
"I know the law book on alligators like a priest knows a Bible. There is nothing mentioned in the FWC regulations that touching is harassing," Kreitman said.
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The FWC says licenses are available to those with the proper training, experience and facilities to possess alligators and exhibit them to the public. Permits are also available to harvest alligators in the wild at certain times of the year. Officials warn that handling and exhibiting alligators without the proper licensing is illegal and a danger to the public.
"They're afraid I'm going to condition the animal to be more tolerant to animals," Kreitman said. "Do you know any humans who are going to step in the water to touch animals?"
When asked if Kreitman was going to go back to what he was doing, he answered, "Absolutely."
