Zoo guest jumps into enclosure to save handler (Video)

In a video captured by party guest Theresa Wiseman, a woman who is an alligator instructor at Scales and Tails, a family-run reptile and bird education center, attempts to guide a large alligator back into a water tank after it made its way onto a platform. The instructor signs a command, signaling for the alligator to retreat back into the water as a group of children attending the party watch the scene from the enclosure’s “safety zone.”. But instead of retreating, the alligator suddenly grabs the handler’s hand and pulls her into the tank.

She is then forced to jump into the tank with the gator, which performs a death roll with handler’s hand still in its mouth. A guest, the husband of the woman who filmed the video, Donnie Wiseman, father of one of the children, jumped into the tank to wrestle the handler’s hand away from the alligator’s jaws with the assistance of Todd Christopher, another guest. In the video, he can be heard yelling “We got trouble,” in an attempt to summon other employees. Wiseman hopped on the alligator’s back, attempting to subdue the animal as Christopher worked on opening the gator’s jaws to release the instructor’s hand. Moments later, the gator released the handler’s hand from its grip as she jumped out of the water to safety.

Heart-stopping moment

With her guidance, Wiseman remained on the alligator as the handler shouted instructions on how to safely jump off the gator’s back. He was able to exit the enclosure without any injury.Both guests and the instructor returned safely behind the glass after the encounter. Shane Richins, the company’s owner, said in an interview that the handler was opening the enclosure to feed the alligator as usual, but this time the reptile “got a little extra spunky.” Watch the video, the incident could have been fatal, but thanks to her expertise, coupled with the bravery of two zoo guests, she escaped and is expected to make a full recovery.