Natural resources manager wrangles reptile Published Aug. 5, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A 6-foot alligator has a new and more appropriate home after being captured near the runway last week. Bob Sargent, Robins natural resources manager, answered a call July 28 that a gator had been spotted in water along Beale Drive. He found it, and was particularly alarmed that it didn't seem frightened of him. Sargent threw a piece of Styrofoam at it, and the gator went toward it as if it was something to eat. That told Sargent the gator had been fed by someone and posed an immediate danger because it was associating people with food. He used a snare pole - a pole with a loop around the end - to catch the alligator by its head, then jumped on its back. With the help of an assistant, he then duct-taped the gator's mouth and legs. The beast - a female estimated to weigh 80 pounds - was relocated to the Ocmulgee River. Gator sightings are not uncommon at Robins, and Sargent has captured several. The animals are generally timid but can become a threat if people feed them. Sargent emphasized people should never feed a gator or even approach it.