A Florida man has miraculously survived after being attacked and bitten in the head by a nine-foot alligator in the river when he was free diving for fossilized shark teeth near Venice.
A 25-year-old man, Jeffrey Heim, suffered a fractured skull and had to get 34 stitches in his head after an alligator grabbed his head in between his powerful jaws.
The survivor told Fox 35 that the reptile attacked him when he came up for air after free diving for shark teeth.
Heim said he felt that the reptile pulled him down with his mask. He added that one can never understand the power of a wild animal like that until someone in its mouth.
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“It’s very scary when you ask someone, ‘am I going to be ok?’ and they hesitate. And they just reassure you and you can hear it in their voice that it’s worse than what they’re telling you. That’s scary.”
Recounting the incident, he said that there was no way to defend himself as it just happened so fast. Jeffrey Heim said that he managed to escape the alligator towards the shore after it lost interest in him.
He was immediately taken to the hospital after the shocked onlookers called the emergency services.
The diver believes that the alligator may have been protecting its eggs.
