Florida 10-Year-Old Narrowly Escapes Alligator Attack Using Trick She Learned At A Theme Park

What would YOU do if an alligator attacked you while you were chilling in a lake, minding your business and just trying to peacefully go about your day? 

Probably make a sound so high-pitched only dogs could hear it and try to smack at the thing until it let go, hopefully without taking your arm or leg with it. 

Well a 10-year-old girl—no, a HERO—was having none of that.

The Florida girl (because of course this would happen in Florida) was playing in two feet of water in the designated swimming area of Lake Mary Jane at Lake Moss Park when she was attacked by an alligator estimated to be eight- to nine-feet long, as reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In other words, that sucker was HUGE, and definitely not something you would want to be on the business end of. 

But this disturbing story actually has a happy ending, as this totally badass kid ninja-ed her way out of the gator's grasp with a move she learned at Gatorland, a theme park and wildlife preserve in Orlando, Florida.

When the gator bit down on her leg, she started poking it in the nose and then pried its jaw open so it would release her leg. “To get an animal with the strongest bite on the planet to let go of you is a miracle,” Gatorland spokesman Donald Aldarelli told WFTV. “I’m just happy that she heard it here.”

The gator was captured and euthanized by a FWC trapper afterwards. The waterfront was closed while Florida Fish & Wildlife and Orange County Parks & Recreation officials assessed the situation. The girl received 10 stitches and went home with a story that will make her the most hardcore kid in her class for years to come. 

All lakes in Florida have gators, unfortunately - those prehistoric monsters are like cockroaches down there. But officials try to monitor areas for swim safety. According to Twitter user @beach_lizard, at this lake the water is dark black due to high mineral content, making it difficult to see any gator until it is up close and personal. Thankfully the girl is okay after heroically winning her bout of gator wrastlin'.