Huge Alligator Sneaks Up On Woman Fishing With Friends, 'Terrifying' Video Goes Viral

A woman and her friends who were on a fishing trip in Florida had a narrow escape from an alligator attack. A "terrifying" TikTok video that went viral over the weekend showed the gator sneaking up on the unaware woman.

The video was shared by a user named "capecoral.jaden" last week. It has since been viewed thousands of times on TikTok. The post mentioned that the incident took place in the Florida Everglades, a swampy area where alligators are found in abundance.

The woman had the shock of her life when she spotted the huge alligator calmly staring at her from the water a few feet away. The woman was filming one of her friends who was holding a fishing line in the water. The gator was partially camouflaged by the muddy water. At one point, the gator is seen slowly raising its head out of the water.

Startled by the reptile's presence, the woman can be heard screaming: "Oh my god, holy s---." Another person was heard saying: "That's why you do not ever sit down with your legs in the water."

The group was lucky that the gator backed away slowly and didn't pose any danger. However, the video was terrifying.

Many social media users joked the gator was waiting for someone to fall in. Some said they spotted the reptile sneaking across the moss before the person who was filming noticed it. One user wrote: "I was waiting for them to notice because I was looking at the Gator looking at me."

"Who else saw it before they did?" said another. A third person added: "I was like 'so I guess they don't care about the Gator peeping them.' Then I realized ya'll had no idea."

Some users said the woman and her friends were lucky to have escaped.

"That gator could have jumped and bit you in 0.5 seconds. You're very lucky," one user wrote. Another said: "Y'all have to assume that everybody of water in Florida might have gator in it. Stay safe."

There are about one million alligators in Florida as of April 2019, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Between 1948 and 2019, 413 unprovoked alligator bite incidents took place, of which 25 were fatal. People in Florida often have close encounters with alligators, and in some cases, the reptiles are spotted in residential areas.