Watch: Alligator attacks trainer at birthday party, man jumps to save her

Seeing the handler struggle to free her hand from the gator’s death grip, the man ran in through the open door and jumped on the animal’s back.

Screengrab (Courtesy: YouTube)

New Delhi: What can go amiss at a children’s birthday party? Well, if there are wild animals around, then anything. In a spine-chilling video, a reptile trainer was attacked by a gator, known as “Darth Gator”, in a pool. A man who was present at the party jumped on the animal’s back to save the handler.

The man, identified as Donnie Wiseman, was attending a 5-year-old’s birthday party at Scales and Tales in US’ Utah when the horrifying incident occurred, KUTV reported. The 8-foot alligator gripped its handler’s hand in its jaw when she went there to feed it. Seeing the handler struggle to free her hand from the gator’s death grip, Wiseman ran in through the open door and jumped on the animal’s back.

As per KUTV, Wiseman’s wife recorded the entire incident on her phone. Wiseman said he was scared while trying to free the trainer from the alligator’s grip but she was calm, which helped him. The gator finally released her and a spectator named Todd Christopher pulled her out of the water. 

Watch the chilling video here:

She then instructed Wiseman on how to jump out of the gator’s back safely. "She was so professional and trained and knew what to do in a situation like that, I’m glad she was there,” Wiseman told KUTV. 

Releasing a statement later, the handler said, "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."