9-Year-Old Colorado Girl Wrestles Alligators

9-year-old Samantha Young of Colorado wrestles alligators. More astonishing, she's been doing it since she was 6 years old, reports the (U.K.) Telegraph.

"We've never been too worried about Samantha wrestling alligators because she's been around them her whole life," her father, Jay Young, tells the Telegraph.

Her dad might not be worried, but watching this video isn't exactly comforting. While Samantha does seem very adept, we aren't so sure how good an idea recreational alligator wrestling is. And you have to wonder how the animals feel about being part of this sport.

The Young family owns and operates Colorado Gators Reptile Park in Mosca, Colo. The 12-acre farm is home to 350 of the carnivorous crocodilians known for their "bone crushing bites" and lurking ways. For $100, members of the public can take a three-hour class at Colorado Gators Park to learn alligator wrestling. "This is the only class in the world where you can get hands-on experience with a nine-foot alligator," states the Park's website. "You'll learn how to handle a small alligator and then gradually work up to a larger size gator, all the way up to the nine-footers!"

Samantha demonstrates how it's done. Wading into a shallow pool, she grabs an alligator's tail, drags it to shore, then scrambles onto its back, quickly straddling it and wrapping her arms around its torso.

"I was a little afraid when I first started, but as I grew older and older, I grew more comfortable with them, and my dad taught me that if you're going to work with them, you're going to have to be comfortable," Samantha tells the Telegraph, sitting on an alligator. "It's all about getting your balance and position on top of the gator's back so that you can control its mouth and neck."

But how safe is it? After all, alligators have been known to attack and occasionally kill humans.

Samantha's father, Jay Young, insists it's safer for his daughter to know her way around an alligator. "She needed to handle them as she grew up so that she would learn about them and understand them," her father says. "It would be more dangerous to not let her handle the alligators and some day she'd poke one that she's not supposed to and get hurt. It's actually much safer to let her wrestle and teach her how to do it properly."

Samantha likes wrestling alligators. "It's a pretty fun sport," says the 9-year-old. "I'd like to teach kids my age, but I'm pretty sure most of them would be scared of the alligators."

What do you think Paw Nation? Is it a good idea for this 9-year-old to be playing with alligators? Is wrestling cruel to these animals? Tell us what you think below.

Tags: alligators, Colorado Gators Reptile Park, ColoradoGatorsReptilePark