Gator Charges a Swimmer Full Speed in Heart-Stopping Video

There are those types of videos when you watch something insane unfold but there remains a lingering question in your mind about the person filming. Was there more they could do? Were they frozen, not knowing what to do except keep their camera in hand?

Imagine watching someone swimming for their life toward shore where you are when you spot an alligator racing toward them full-on as their arms cycle in and out of the water—would you even consider jumping in to help?

What about when they’ve reached the bank—are you stepping forward to pull them out? It’s easy to question and judge during some shocking videos but we never know how we will react when a life and death situation like this arises.

Swimmer Faces Race for Life Against Gator

This video is taken from behind a metal railing. There appears to be a brick pathway just in front of the cameraman. In the backdrop, you can see a huge lake with plenty of bushy green trees at the shoreline on the opposite side.

There’s commotion in the center of the water, close to the cameraman. You can quickly make out that it’s a person swimming with broad front strokes—and they’re moving fast.

It’s not apparent at first if this is just a vigorous exercise being captured on film or if there’s danger somewhere off-screen. That question gets answered within a second when an alligator’s head comes into view, mere feet from the person swimming toward the camera.

The gator’s speed is remarkable—it seems to glide through the water while the person barely makes any headway. On the one hand, there’s some good news because they’re nearly toward shore but does that really matter when a gator has decided you’re something it wants?

The gator chomps down onto the person in the water and they both go under for a second, leaving large splashes on the surface. They both emerge immediately after, and the swimmer comes into better view.

He is fighting off this gator using every bit of adrenaline surging through his body. He keeps his eyes steady on the gator as he makes it onto the bank, exhausted and bleeding. He shuffles dizzily onto shore, moaning in pain before he looks over to assess the damage.

Incredibly, this man survived this gator encounter with only a few minor wounds to show for it.

Up Next, More Outrageous Gator Footage:

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• Florida Woman Comes Face to Face With an Alligator While Paddleboarding
• Florida Alligator Devours Drone Mid-Air And Breathes Smoke Like a Water Dragon