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SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 04 May 06 South Florida real estate tycoon wrestles alligator in Everglades -- and loses (Buddy Nevins)
Real estate tycoon Ronald Bergeron, who developed much of the former Everglades in southwest Broward County, was bitten on the hand while trying to wrestle with one of the Everglades fiercest denizens -- an American alligator.
Bergeron said he was giving an all-terrain vehicle tour of his 5,000-plus-acre private nature preserve in Hendry County on Sunday morning to guests who had donated $10,000 to the Boys and Girls Club for the weekend.
Coming across an alligator he estimated at 7 feet long resting on the lakeside, Bergeron, who has wrestled many alligators in the past, jumped on the reptile.
"Couples donate a lot of money to charities for the weekend and I always tell them I'm going to wrestle an alligator," Bergeron said Wednesday. "It's part of my Florida cracker culture. My grandfather was a game warden in the Everglades and I grew up around alligators."
Bergeron said he usually rides on the alligator's back for a minute and lets it go. He said he never harms the alligators.
But this time, the stunt turned ugly.
"I saw Ronnie jump on its back and suddenly he was dragged under water," said Aleida "Ali" Waldman, Bergeron's real estate attorney.
She said the guests stood stunned on the shore.
"He was rolling and I couldn't keep control of his mouth," Bergeron said. "He grabbed my hand in his mouth."
"When Ronnie came up for air, he was screaming," Waldman said.
When the alligator got near shore, Waldman and Bergeron yelled for car dealer Rick Case and others to grab the reptile's tail and pull it out of the water.
Bergeron, who let the gator go when he got on shore, was driven to Cleveland Clinic in Weston. His left pinky finger was shattered, his ring finger was broken and there were puncture wounds through his palm in several places.
Dani Moschella, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said, "It's illegal to harass an animal in any way. Alligators are a species of special concern."
Moschella said the incident had not been reported to her agency Wednesday.
This isn't the first time Bergeron, who lives in Weston, has been injured while taking part in extreme sports. He snapped off part of his right middle finger while trying to rope a steer in the rodeo, where he competes almost every week.
Isn't the 62-year-old multimillionaire getting too old to fool with alligators, he was asked.
"I don't think so," he said. "I work out every day. I participate in the professional rodeo every week. I might just do it again."
South Florida real estate tycoon wrestles alligator in Everglades -- and loses

SUN-SENTINEL (Florida) 06 May 06 Group targets alligator wrestler - Prosecution of real estate tycoon sought (Buddy Nevins)
An animal-rights group called Friday for the prosecution of real estate tycoon Ronald Bergeron for jumping on an alligator in an attempt to wrestle it.
Bergeron, 62, who was bitten on the hand during the incident Sunday, said he was showing guests on his private 5,000-acre nature preserve in Hendry County some of his "Florida cracker heritage" by demonstrating alligator wrestling.
About the call for his prosecution, Bergeron said, "They got their opinion and I got mine. I didn't harass the alligator. He bit me; I didn't bite him."
Heather Veleanu of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida said molesting wild animals was no joke.
"By pressing charges against Mr. Bergeron, the fish and wildlife commission would help to discourage others from attempting similar stunts," Veleanu said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, noting it was unlawful to harass an alligator, announced Thursday it was investigating Bergeron.
"We have no objection to Mr. Bergeron playing cowboy," Veleanu said. "But physically attacking native Florida wildlife is cruel and we believe that it is also a crime."
Bergeron said wildlife officers contacted his office Friday, but he had not spoken to them yet. He said he will cooperate with the investigation.
He noted the alligator swam away after biting him through the palm and breaking two of his fingers. He said that he has protected "thousands" of alligators on his preserve and doesn't allow them to be hunted.
Bergeron, a multimillionaire who lives on an 80-acre ranch in Weston, owns real estate throughout Florida and at one time developed much of southwest Broward County. He is also in the road building and mining business, and said he is working to get a museum built in Broward that would feature the story of the Everglades.
Group targets alligator wrestler