We can all agree that alligators and crocodiles are terrifying. Some people, on the other hand, have the bravery to confront them and even fight them.
To save his pet from impending death, an elderly man from Florida recently fought an alligator. The entire encounter was recorded on video by a wildlife camera.
Richard Wilbanks, a 74-year-old Estero homeowner, was walking his dog Gunner near to the backyard fishpond when a baby alligator leaped out of the water, grabbed the 3-month-old puppy, and began tugging it into the water.
Wilbanks leapt into the water right away and grappled the alligator with a courage that would make even the late Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, jealous.
This 74-year-old man who fought an alligator to save his pet became viral on the internet.
“We were just walking by the pond when it shot out of the water like a rocket,” Wilbanks said. I had no idea an alligator could move so quickly. “It happened so quickly.”
He said that adrenaline kicked in right away, and he leaped into the water on the spur of the moment to battle the beast.
When a baby alligator jumped out of the water “like a rocket,” he was walking his three-month-old dog around his backyard pond.
The adrenaline rushed in as the alligator seized the dog, and Willbanks responded quickly.
It wasn’t difficult to hold the two-foot-long alligator. To put things in perspective, a four-foot alligator in the wild may be a serious menace.
Forcing the animal’s jaws open was the most difficult phase of the struggle. The courageous retiree initially grabbed the alligator and transported it to safety. Then he plunged his hands into the animal’s mouth and began yanking it open with force.
He was able to open Gunner’s lips wide enough for him to leave. The dog only had one puncture wound, but his owner’s hands were covered with bite marks and bruises.
He dragged the juvenile alligator from the water and wrenched open its jaws, allowing the youngster to escape.
Pulling out the two-foot-long alligator wasn’t tough, but getting him to open his jaws was harder.
The Florida Wildlife Federation’s Meredith Budd remarked, “We live on a shared landscape.” “We don’t simply want to coexist with animals; we want to thrive with them in a shared landscape.”
Despite his dog’s near-fatal encounter with the alligator, Wilbanks supports the project and its goals, and he does not want the alligator relocated since it is a part of the ecosystem and our life.
So now, whenever he takes his dog for a stroll, he makes sure he keeps him on a leash and away from the pond’s edge.
