Families were horrified when a female reptile handler was suddenly pulled into an alligator enclosure by the powerful creature. Just as the beast began its death roll with her in its mouth, a heroic stranger came out of nowhere.
A trainer has narrowly escaped alive after a terrifying animal attack at a reptile show for a child’s birthday in Utah. Both parents and children were in full view as a young woman was fighting for her life from within the jaws of one of the world’s most feared creatures.
A bystander captured the attack on video, which begins with a female trainer opening the barrier door to an enclosure to feed the alligator. As she does this, the creature lunges toward her several times, prompting the handler to signal to the animal to back up. However, instead of retreating, the gator lurches forward, clamping down on her left hand.
The trainer makes several attempts to loosen her hand from the gator’s mouth but is unsuccessful. Although she tries to remain calm, panic soon sets in as the beast easily pulls her into the tank, forcing her to her knees in the water.
The alligator then initiates a death roll, which is intended to incapacitate and dismember prey. Knowing she is in danger of losing her hand, the young woman tries to roll with the gator but is quickly submerged and at the mercy of the powerful animal. Fortunately, a hero was on his way.
ABC4 reports that Donnie Wiseman, who is the husband of the woman who filmed the incident, leaped into action. He immediately jumps into the tank and straddles the alligator in an attempt to stop it from rolling. At this point, a guest named Todd Christopher tries to pry the animal’s jaws open.
“It took everybody a second to realize what was going on and I saw it happen and I was like ‘What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?’ and I see him rolling and I was like oh,” Donnie adds.
The gator finally releases the trainer, who is pulled out of the tank by Christopher. The pair then shouted instructions to Wiseman on how to safely jump off the animal’s back and escape the tank, which he does effortlessly.
“I thought to myself, once I get her free, I got him under the neck, he shouldn’t be able to get me right? I mean the EMTs are coming,” Donnie explains.
An update was posted to social media explaining that the trainer was recovering and is expected to regain full use of her hand.
“I got lucky to land in a hospital that employs what has to be the best orthopedic surgeon in Utah. He was able to improvise and come up with a solution that should result in full use of my hand,” she stated on the company’s Facebook page. “I can’t explain the level of admiration I have for that man. I’m being treated aggressively with antibiotics, which I’m thankful the Infectious Disease staff here were prepared to do.”
Shane Richins, the company’s owner, thanked Wiseman for saving the trainer’s “life and limb” but downplayed the attack by claiming the gator simply “got a little extra spunky.” He stated that the policy is to have two handlers present but admitted that it hasn’t been enforced in recent years as long as the worker doesn’t intend to enter the enclosure.
The company is experiencing a backlash not only over its policy but also due to the treatment of the alligator. Some comments even express more concern over the animal’s wellbeing than that of the injured trainer.
The handler is very fortunate that a brave man was there to save her. Thankfully, he possessed the courage as well as the physical strength to subdue the creature so that she could escape almost certain death or dismemberment.