Alligator wrestling - sport with added bite

An American Indian in Florida is hoping to turn the tribal tradition of alligator wrestling into an extreme sport with international competitors and a global audience.

James Holt, a Seminole Indian, hosts the weekend's Freestyle Alligator Wrestling Competition at the Seminole tribal fair in the town of Hollywood.

The wrestlers will have to jump into a deep water pool for a 10-minute timed session with an alligator.

Competitors will be scored in six categories: aggressiveness of the alligator, difficulty of the move, style, appearance, showmanship and water wrangling.

Holt hopes this year's event will widen its appeal. "We definitely would love to have guys from MAustralia, guys from Thailand. Those guys are really good at what they do too," he says.

And he rejects accusations of animal cruelty, claiming that he and his colleagues have many rescued alligators that would otherwise be euthanised.

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