Most alligator attacks occur in water.
But on land alligators can run up to 35 mph and climb over obstacles.
And one Florida farmer just found out the hard way that alligators can be dangerous in a pepper patch.
Alligators are mostly aquatic creatures that stay around ponds, lakes, and swampy areas.
But alligators can travel up to 1.5 miles per day on land and run up to 35 mph in short bursts.
During the warm months, alligators usually lay on land next to water early in the day to allow the sunlight to increase their metabolism.
But alligators can be athletic when necessary.
They can leap five feet in the air out of the water by pushing themselves with the strength of their tail and they have been known to climb staircases, ladders, trees, and even fences.
And as a farmer in Palm City, Florida, just learned, alligators are a dangerous beast both in and out of the water.
Ender Esquivel, a 24-year-old, had been cutting peppers in a field located near an area with water and alligators.
“It was after the lunch hour,” he said. “I saw that there were alligators in the water near the area where I cut peppers.”
Esquivel continued working since he was on the land and thought he was safe.
However, his leg erupted with pain minutes later when a nine foot alligator entered the field and attacked him.
“10 to 15 minutes later, when I was working, an alligator attacked me on my left leg,” he said. “I pushed the alligator’s nose away and it let go of me,” he continued. “My coworkers also helped me by throwing stuff at the alligator.”
He said his adrenaline increased very quickly during the attack.
“It was like my instinct and adrenaline in that moment because all I felt was that it bit me and shook its snout to destabilize and throw me,” Esquivel said. “What I did was put my hand on top of it to detach myself.”
“In that moment, it let me go and it wanted to bite me again, but in that moment I jumped and distanced myself from where it was,” he added.
Esquivel was taken to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
But he now knows alligators are dangerous everywhere.
“I never imagined that this could happen,” Esquivel said.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
