Texas restaurant owner takes down alligator on his front porch

A Texas middle school student had quite the start to her first day of school after she opened her front door to see an alligator.

Running back into the house, her father didn't believe her until he saw the gator, Mike Trinh wrote in a Facebook post.

Luckily, the Missouri City local said his years of watching the "Crocodile Hunter," the late Steve Irwin, on TV prepared him to take on the gator.

Trinh, the owner of nearby restaurant Mike's Seafood, told ABC News on Wednesday that he had to get his kids to school, so he threw a towel over the gator to subdue it and walk past to his car. However, when he returned from his drop-off duties, Trinh said the gator was still on his front porch.

"I've never had to deal with a gator like this," he said. "You see them in the water, but never crawling through the subdivision and up to the front door."

Trinh said he called Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office who then directed him to the Missouri City Police Department, who Trinh said then directed him to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which hadn't yet opened for the day.

After waiting for about an hour, Trinh told ABC News, he decided to address the gator himself.

"I pinned his mouth closed with a sledgehammer and got onto his back," Trinh said. "I asked my daughter to get duct tape and she started taping his mouth shut. I finished taping up his mouth and then taped his legs together."

Trinh told ABC News Houston station KTRK that he is a former mixed martial arts fighter, which helped guide him in pinning down the animal.

Eventually, Trinh decided to call a local game warden since he hadn't heard back from other officials. However, Trinh said the fee would have been $300 to have someone come take the gator, a price he wasn't willing to pay.

Instead, Trinh and a friend loaded the gator into the back of the truck and drove to a nearby lake. After untaping the gator, Trinh said the animal slid off the back of the truck and into the water.

Experts say that it's unusual for an alligator to approach humans, as they usually will stay within the water.

However, if you do find yourself squaring off with a gator, experts offer several tips on how to fight back and get away.