Wrestle Free From An Alligator

While deaths in the United States from alligator attacks are rare,
there are thousand of attacks and hundred of fatalities from Nile
crocodile in Africa and Indopacific in Asia and Australia.

How To Wrestle Free From An alligator

1. If you are on land. try to get on the alligator's back and put downward
pressure on it's neck.
This will force it's head and jaws down.

2. Cover the alligator's eyes.
This will usually make it more sedate.

3. If its jaws are closed on something you want to remove ( for example, a limb ),
tap or punch it on the snout.
Alligators often open their mouths when tapped lightly.They may drop whatever
it is they have taken hold of, and back off.

4. If the alligator gets you in its jaws, you must prevent it from shaking you or
from rolling over, these instinctual actions cause severe tissue damage.
Try to keep the mouth clamped shut so the alligator does not begin shaking.

5. Seek medical attention immediately, even for small cut or bruise, to treat infection.
Alligators have a huge number of pathogens in their mouths.

How To Avoid An Attack

• Do not swim or wade in areas alligators are known to inhabit ( in Florida, this can be anywhere )
• Do not swim or wade alone, and always check out the area before venturing in.
• Never feed alligators.
• Do not dangle arms and legs from boats, and avoid throwing unused bait or fish from a boat or dock.
• Do not harass, try to touch. or capture any alligator.
• Leave babies and eggs alone. Any adult alligator will respond to a distress call from any youngster. mother alligators guarding nests and babies will defend them.
• In most cases the attacking alligators had been fed by human prior to the attack. This is an important link- feeding alligators seems to cause them to loose their fear of humans and become more aggressive.