Free Republic

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Central Florida woman is on the road to recovery after surviving an alligator attack on the Fourth of July. Rachél Thompson said she went for a morning run and decided to take a dip in the river when danger struck. “I’m basically standing in shallow water and I look from the dark water, out of nowhere appear the ripples of a giant alligator head,” Thompson recounted. The gator lunged and bit down on Thompson’s leg. She started fighting for her life, punching the animal in the snout and trying to free herself. “The thought...

A 24-year-old homeless woman wrestled to free herself from an alligator after the animal attacked and tried to drag her underwater as she swam in Florida’s Lake Hernando early on Wednesday, PEOPLE confirms. Felicitie Gillette was swimming in the Citrus County lake around 1 a.m. when a 5- to 6-foot alligator grabbed her by her left arm and attempted to drag her underwater, according to a statement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. She was able to fight off the alligator and called 911. “It came up out of nowhere and attacked,” Gillette said in a frantic 911...

Photo from Sumter County Sheriff's Office About 6:30 p.m. on June 21, 2016, a 8.5-9 foot, 300 lb alligator was discovered near some agitated horses that belonged to Reginald Blanton, 74 years old. Blanton shot the reptile with a 9mm handgun, reportedly hitting it two or three times.  Where he hit it is not clear, but the shots would likely have been  mortal, because the alligator was still there, lying in the grass, when the authorities "euthanized it". While the story is two months old, there are important lessons to learn. After the shots, Blanton's stepson, Jack Hildreth, 58,...