Never trust an alligator that’s swimming towards you.
I’ll admit that guidance might seem like common sense. So much so that you aren’t going to see any National Parks or wildlife experts giving you that exact advice (theirs is to stay far away from wild animals in the first place).
Maybe that’s what the man in this video should have done when he saw this gator swimming at high speed down the waterway and right towards his boat. If he was smart, he would have got that engine started and tried his best to get the hell out of dodge.
Instead, he practically welcomed the alligator aboard. The gator comes gliding through the water (almost creating a wake), obviously using the back-and-forth motion of its tail to propel itself quickly towards the vessel.
The man, who appears to be enjoying some fishing out on the water, is perplexed by the gator’s fast approach, and doesn’t have much time to think once the reptile decides it wants to jump up into the boat (also using its tail underneath the water to do this).
Judging by the caption of the post, there’s an implication that the gator only acted this aggressively because it had been fed by humans in the past. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service suggests that wild animals being given food acclimates them to being around people, thus the “calm and docile animals may become aggressive and cause harm to people in the area.”
It doesn’t appear that the gator physically harms the man in the boat, but there’s certainly an infliction of emotional distress (that would hold up in court). How do I know the guy’s fear and anxiety spiked? I’m just going off of what he said as it was all going down:
“Oh sh*t man. This is so close man. Watch out! Man, what the f**k man? What the f**k?”
You don’t drop a double “WTF” if adrenaline isn’t coursing through your body. There’s no doubt that this man saw his life flash before his eyes as he potentially (can’t confirm) stiff armed the gator off the side of the boat and back into the water.
Take a look:
Humans, stop feeding wild animals. 🐊😄😄😄 pic.twitter.com/hJD7SJl4Qy
— RED 𝕏 (@NpAnatomy) January 28, 2024
What a wild video.
Social media users couldn’t believe their eyes when they watched it, but once they came to grips with what happened, most of them started to make jokes about the whole thing:
He was hungry and thought that you would make a great meal
— Charles Malone (@horsedragon60) January 28, 2024
the way it turned and looked at him😱😆
— Blue (@blue_but_dark) January 28, 2024
Really, stop messing with these dangerous creatures. There’s a reason why these dinosaurs are still here.
— Kym S (@KymSredinski) January 29, 2024
That was close
— Nigel Forrester (@nigelpaulf) January 28, 2024
Best for everyone to just leave wild animals alone. 🦁
— Charles (@Charles60_Tesla) January 29, 2024
Amen to that Charles60_Tesla…
