Fla. Man Allegedly Offered Gator Beer —and His Own Arm

Timothy Kepke survived to face charges, officials say
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 9, 2019 9:35 AM CDT
Fla. Man Allegedly Offered Gator Beer —and His Own Arm
A person holds an alligator in Chicago on July 16, 2019.   (Kelley Gandurski/Chicago Animal Care and Control via AP)

Timothy Kepke said he'd downed a couple of beers. Perhaps that's why the Florida man offered up his arm to an alligator one night in late August, according to a report from state wildlife officials. The report, mentioning unreleased video footage, describes a friend catching the gator with his bare hands in Palm City on Aug. 26 before Kepke encouraged the animal to bite his right forearm, per TCPalm. Records show the 27-year-old then rewarded the gator with a mouthful of beer.

"After the beer is poured, the alligator aggressively reacts," TCPalm reports, noting Kepke and 22-year-old Noah Osborne later set the animal free. Kepke, of Hobe Sound, admitted to the acts in an interview last month, officials say. Both he and Osborne, of Stuart, were booked into Martin County Jail on Thursday, each on one felony count of unlawfully taking an alligator, whose size wasn't revealed, per Fox News. They were released the same day after posting $5,000 and $2,500 bonds, respectively. (More alligator stories.)

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