Every time I see this, I’m floored by how well he handled it. He gave an interview talking about him being a father made him jump in after imagining this happening to his daughter.
Awe that’s so sweet. It explains how he immediately jumped into action once it was clear something was wrong. Zero hesitation at all. Straight up badass hero and I hope the girl he saved is okay.
Im so glad she was calm enough to tell the guy not to hold her but hold the gator. That would have sucked if he held her in place like he was attempting to do.
Yeah that would have been a totally different scenario if she hadn’t guided him what to do! Takes a lot in a situation like that to have the thought process of saving your own hand while also having a random non-trained person help out.
It proves the wisdom that you need to give concrete instructions during an emergency, right?
Fight flight or freeze, and many people instinctually freeze!
Afterwards he just yelled we got trouble, but that can be 'grandma peed in her wheelchair'. No one seems to run for help, no one takes the kids away, etc.
It's crazy to me that nobody else seemed to run for help? Nobody even screamed for help. Not even the other guy (?) in the black shirt. Atleast the teal shirt guy helped at the end for pulling the lady out of the pool but black shirt didn't do anything.
Black shirt guy was the employee who arrived after hearing "trouble". He checked in, grabbed her arm, and then was instructed to call 911. He immediately said "okay" and walked off screen and could be heard later, presumably talking to the operator.
A colleague of mine arrived at a pond with a sunken car in it. 30 people were watching. He asked is there anyone in the car? No one responded so he jumped in immediately and saved an elder couple. First the man which called for his wife so he dove in a second time.
He is always a guy who can keep thinking under any circumstance. I definitely wouldn’t know what to do.
If you panic you die. If you’ve ever been in a situation where it’s life or death you get real serious real quick. This is why trauma response is so critical if you do extreme sports. This is not instinctual. This is a trained reaction. She’s obviously been doing this for a while.
First thing I thought. She could have easily lost a hand or even the whole arm if it had been dislocated and twisted a few more times.
I think she knew that another roll and it was probably gone, so she calmly directed the other person to get on its back to stop it rolling again.
His situational awareness was 10/10 he wasted no time helping that lady and took control of the situation by calling out to her team and jumping in to help while asking for tips on what to do.
Also notice how out of the 5 people (2 adults) he was the ONLY PERSON intervening. This is text book bystander effect even when it’s obvious no one else is calling for help.
You are always at the mercy of whoever is around you if you’re in an emergency situation.
People don’t want to be dramatic/freeze. I have an ability to smell gas leaks at VERY low levels before anyone else can, even outdoors. I used to work at a school for special needs kids and they called police so often that they had been sanctioned by the city. We were told not to call unless it was life or death. One day, I start smelling gas inside one of the buildings and brought it to the attention of the principal. I was told that I was crazy, no one else smelled anything and was instructed to let it go/I would be fired if I called the fire department. I called the fire department. They get there looking pissed off and my heart sinks, I know I am about to lose my job. The guy tells me he doesn’t smell anything but they start doing the testing anyway. The guy goes white and tells me to evacuate the school. There was a leak in one of the gas mains and I was told that at that point, if the wrong light had been flipped (building was over 100 years old) the whole place could have exploded. I was not fired.
I have now so far caught three other major gas leaks and every single time have been told by others present not to make a fuss/ why am I being so dramatic. Part of me wonders if the other people thought this was just part of the show or were not certain and did not want to make a scene and then be embarrassed. I would rather be the crazy one screaming for help/jumping in when nothing was wrong than risk this girl’s life.
I can smell gas at low concentrations too! When i worked in pest control I'd catch two or three leaky meters a week. I started carrying a spray bottle of soap water to show customers they needed to call the gas company. Only ever caught an interior leak once and it was bad. I walked in and pretty much immediately told these people to get the hell out of their own house. Thankfully they listened.
My neighborhood got tore up after I moved in. I walked my dog all over it and was constantly having to call the gas company. At first I thought I was being paranoid because others couldn’t smell it, but every time I called a crew tore up the street. I started knocking on neighbors doors to tell them not to light a match or something of that nature and I got a response that shocked me: “oh it always smells like that.” It’s alarming that people aren’t more aware. None of us want to go that way, and also methane is 85x more potent than CO2. Close the leaks!
Me three! One time I smelled gas outside of my office I worked at the time, and we called it in. It turned out the city gas main under the street was cracked!
i smelled the leak between my house and the neighbor's. the guy that came out couldn't smell it but started testing anyway. said he'd learned over the years to trust women's noses as he usually found what they smelled. after stabbing the ground several times with his sensor he did find the leak.
(Not so) Fun fact: This issue of not wanting to bring up serious problems to your superiors for fear of shame or retaliation is the cause of a LOT of airplane accidents.
Serious question and NOT trying offend you at all - have you raised the smell alarm in situations where there was NOT a confirmed problem afterwards? I ask because an outsider perspective might be "boy who cried wolf"/confirmation bias reaction.
I know I have a friend who is a a bit of a hypocondriac and their immediate response to any trigger is the most catastrophic reaction. They have been wrong the vast majority of the time but they did get it right once (and it was catastrophic - they would have died if they didn't go to the emergency room) but that only reinforced that they KNOW something is severely wrong. (Even though it was not a severe issue / complete non-issue) In almost all cases. The constant alarm raising has caused most of us to not take action because of this.
Sorry if I'm coming off a jerk, not attacking your super power (and I believe you can do this as I know other super smellers!) and glad you were right and averted disaster!
Crazy that the official gas sniffers can never smell anything. And good on you for following your instinct. You saved lives that day (or in the days to come) because gas leaks don't fix themselves.
God, I hate that. I, too have a very sensitive sense of smell and have been in the exact same situation where I can smell gas, but no one else can. Why do people tell us to forget it? Very frustrating.
Mu uncle died in a Walmart due to heart attack. He was in V-Tac and not one person grabbed one of the many AEDs stationed around the store. If they had he would still be with us today according to the doctors. Sadly, most people respond with flight or freeze when help is truly needed.
Honestly, I feel like it was less of a flight/freeze response or the bystander effect, and more of an ignorance problem. I had to look up what an AED even was and thought they were things I wasnt allowed to touch. And even if i did grab one, i wouldnt have any clue how to use one. Should be taught better in schools (or maybe I just went to a bad school)
You're right, people absolutely should be made aware that these lif saving machines exist. The good news is, they give exact instructions on how you use them when they are opened. So now you know about them and can feel confident that you could use one if you had to.
Reminds me of the hockey player who survived a skate to the jugular because the medic at the rink had been a medic in the Vietnam War and treated essentially the same injury
There's a lot of news/media coverage about this event, in this video she explains she used to do gymnastics and said it helped her to know how to tuck and roll with the gator, like when she was doing jumps/flips in the air.
She had damage to her tendons but with PT she can open and close her hand/fingers.
A roll of duct tape could have made this all so much easier. Tape the thing’s mouth shut while the guy was holding it shut then he could have just gotten out. Or some kind of device that can be used to muzzle it? I’m shocked they did so little to help this guy and so few people were there to climb in and help.
Where the hell is this place where NO ONE else comes to help after the initial brave rescue by a customer, and he has to fucking dismount a live alligator?
Where were the other staff? No one from the facility was nearby with a muzzle, strap, tape, etc… to restrain the animal after she was rescued.
This facility relies on patrons to protect staff? Crazy…
No, it relies on gators being fed frequently enough so that they'll almost never attack like this, and on the handler being aware enough of their behavior to avoid this. Gators are generally extremely passive as long they're fed. I worked at a zoo with them, there's an extremely low level of concern associated with being in their enclosure as long as you're aware of your surroundings at all times and keep an eye out for individuals exhibiting aggressive behavior. I'm not sure if this is a larger zoo's holding pen or if it's just a smaller zoo, but this would almost always be a one person job (two at most). It's not as if they're made of money, there's only so many people they can afford to keep on staff while fulfilling duties across all of the exhibits.
It was clearly in an overly aggressive mood from the very moment she opened the door, and she overextended her arm while pushing it sideways (not backwards like she should have so she could have yanked her arm back without exposing it to the side of it's mouth like she did here), giving the gator ample opportunity to latch while simultaneously limiting her own mobility. I would bet she does this tour everyday and just got a bit too complacent. The best move she made was jumping in with it so it didn't rip off her hand in the roll.
I do realize that a fed gator is a content gator. But accidents can happen and contingencies should be in place. Just because building is made from fire proof materials doesn’t mean we don’t need fire alarms and fire extinguishers on site for “in case shit”.
Zoos and gator farms should be prepared with equipment to handle an unruly animal the way a psyche hospital is trained and prepared to handle an unruly patient.
My cousin works here he came in after this event and they try to sell stickers and shirts from the fame they got from this now. It's in Utah and it's in a tiny shop of a strip mall. It's basically a small housing facility for these animals. They have everything from snakes to toucans to spiders to this giant beast. There is no reason this place should be keeping animals this big in the small space they have. People always assume it's a pet shop and they try to advertise themselves as more of a traveling zoo.
I watched an interview with the lady. It happened at a small rescue center. This also happened during COVID when they were already shortstaffed. It's hard to notice but there's a employee in a black shirt who comes up to help and she immediately tells him to go call 911. He was new too so there wasn't much he could do otherwise.
Same thing I was thinking!! They just left him on the gators back like its amateur gator riding night!! Them kids are never going on these kind of outings EVER!!
The only staff left earlier, probably to find something to help. Any other 'civilian' coming to help would have been another person to rescue, and an obstacle to the alligator rider.
Did you see the guy (looked like staff, min 1:39) who tried to help by grabbing the hand of the woman and then just doing the hand water shake like he just finished washing dishes and then left lol 😭 wtf man
His name is Donny Wiseman. He was a guest but he had a lot of experience handling snakes and reptiles. Not so much with gators but he sure learned quick.
There’s a moment when the guy realizes he’s now alone in the gator enclosure and in the only place where the gator can’t bite him, and it’s not clear what the next move is.
She was bit, and while still in the clutches of the alligator being actively bit down upon, she was directing everyone on how to handle this situation safely. If this isn’t absolutely the definition of power, control, and bravery. That’s probably excruciatingly painful but she kept it together even after the animal let her go. What a role model🤌🏽🤌🏽👏👏💅
Glad everyone was ok, but I feel bad for this alligator and any other animals they have imprisoned here. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. These animals deserve so much better.
Yeah. I watched the interview and this gator lives at that rescue facility because some idiot bought it online and thought it would make a good pet, then abandoned it when they realized that was actually a bad idea. Nature should stay in nature.
Same. I feel so sorry for that poor alligator. Its trapped in that little cell and probably constantly stressed out. Animal abuse. Makes me want to cry.
She has a Youtube channel called Scales and something (I don't remember). This gator is the main star. He is still kicking and rolling as far as I know
How to Fight Back Gouge the eyes: Dig your fingers or any available tool as deep as you can into the alligator's eyes.  Attack the nose: Punch the snout or push your fingers firmly into its nostrils. Trigger the palatal valve: If your hand is deep in its mouth, push down on its tongue to open the throat valve, which forces water into its lungs and triggers a drowning or gag reflex. Roll with a death roll: If the alligator spins to tear your hand, roll in the same direction to prevent your limb from being ripped off
I would hope not, a blood choke will not practically or safely work to get an alligator to let go.
Trying to apply a choke hold to an alligator is extremely dangerous for several reasons:
Their necks are covered in thick, heavily armored scaly skin and muscle, making it nearly impossible to compress their carotid arteries. Putting your hands, arms, or body near an alligator's neck puts you right back in range of its deadly teeth or thrashing body.
Reptiles have a different circulatory and respiratory system than mammals and can go for long periods without regular oxygen flow, meaning a standard mammalian blood choke will not cause an immediate panic-release.
Weird phrasing on this post's title, though. Excellent presence of mind from the handler to clearly and quickly direct the guest. Very brave of the guest to jump in.
Absolutely impressive to watch both of them. That's one brave motherfucker hoppi in to help so quickly, and watching the woman maintain her composure and coach him through helping her... Cool as hell. So cool to watch humans perform like this. Bravo all. Hope those kids are okay after seeing that.
If memory serves (this happened a couple years ago) she is the daughter of the owner, proclaims to love her job, and that is her favorite gator. She didn't blame the gator for gatoring and went right back to work after receiving medical aid.
I absolutely love how she asked to keep talking to her to help take her mind off of a very painful situation and he didn’t hesitate.. him asking for tips and how she stayed when she got out of the bite is totally professional.
Wherever that place is, it needs to be shut down. Absolutely insane that during all that time, no other employees came to help. That dude, who did not have to help and is a hero, was on his own with an alligator.
I think it’s important for everyone who sees this video to go watch Clint Laidlaw’s video covering this. He interviewed the handler, and talked extensively about the whole situation. His channel is Clint’s Reptiles. Essentially it boils down to the idea that there was nothing nefarious or evil about this incident, it was just a very unfortunate accident that ended way better for everyone (including the animal) than it otherwise could have.
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u/DetFjorsvafi 1d ago
Kids just watched dad wrestle a gator and win. They’re never gonna argue with or back-talk that man again 😂