Florida Mom Recounts Feeling 'Hunted' by Alligator That Attacked Her 'Out of Nowhere'
"I was not ready to leave my family," said Rachél Thompson
A Florida mom's post-workout cooldown on the Fourth of July ended in a harrowing shark attack.
Rachél Thompson says she had finished her morning jog and yoga when she decided to jump into the Hillsborough River near her home in Temple Trace to cool off, per NBC affiliate WFLA, ABC affiliate WFTS and Spectrum Bay News 9.
But as Thompson was getting out of the water, she was attacked by an alligator.
"I’m basically standing in shallow water, and I look, and from the dark water, out of nowhere appears the ripples of a giant alligator head, and I couldn’t see how long it was," she told WFTS.
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"It was just a fraction of a second from me seeing his head and him grabbing my leg," she added while speaking with Bay News 9.
Related: Florida Named as Shark Attack Capital of the World — with U.S. Waters the Global No. 1 for Bites
Thompson, who told WFLA that she felt "hunted" throughout the ordeal, said she fought back, punching the gator.
"The thought came to my mind, this is your last move, his next is to roll you and I just screamed and I pried as hard as I could," she told WFTS.
The gator ultimately released her leg and she pulled herself onto a dock. Her son and a neighbor found her and rushed her to the hospital.
Related: California Shark Attack Survivor Recounts Harrowing Ordeal: 'I Tussled with the Animal’
She had emergency surgery, but fortunately, she says she is expected to make a full recovery, WFLA reported.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident, but Thompson told Bay News 9 that she just feels grateful to be alive.
"I was not ready to leave my family," she said.
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