Florida Paddleboarder Survives Harrowing Encounter with Alligator

A Florida paddleboarder says she’s lucky to be alive after a oversized alligator attempted to take a chunk out of the board she was on.

Ocala resident Vicki Reamy Baker says she was paddleboarding with friends at Silver Springs State Park on Labor Day when she was surprised by the huge gator that swam right up to her. “Get away from me!” Baker can be heard saying in a video shot by one of her friends. After she nudges the giant reptile with her paddle, it can be seen glaring at her as it lets out a loud, angry hiss. It then appears to try to bite into the paddleboard, after which Baker frantically paddles away, the video reveals.

“Someone has been feeding him and made him very dangerous,” Baker says. “He was a big boy.”

You know I love my gator stories!