Boyce's battle: Former Prism director takes on alligator

Back in 2004, Fred Boyce made headlines for wrangling with folk musicians at the Prism Coffeehouse, where he was the talented if hot-tempered artistic director, responsible for booking acts at the historic venue. Six years after Boyce left Charlottesville for southwest Virginia, with plans to stay involved in the music scene, it appears he's changed fields– but he's made headlines again for wrangling, and this time with a far more fearsome foe: an alligator.

The incident happened on Wednesday, May 16, when Boyce, who according to news reports is now working at a North Carolina aquarium, was called to respond to a 10-foot-long, 350-pound gator sunning itself on the side of a highway. With wildlife officials hours away, according to a report by ABC national news show Good Morning America, Boyce took matters into his own hands– and nearly lost some limbs in the process.

The video shows him approach the gator, which has a towel over its head, then slowly mount the beast's back, prompting reptilian retaliation as the alligator whips around and latches onto Boyce's right arm, shaking it several times before releasing him.

"What were you thinking exactly?" asks the ABC interviewer.

"That's the question I still haven't really figured out myself," Boyce replies, praising the alligator as "very nice, let me off easy compared to what he could have done."

Although he suffered multiple puncture wounds, Boyce, who now lives in Swansboro, NC, and says he has "many years experience" working with alligators, including at a zoo in Maryland, will make a full recovery. He could not be reached by posting time.