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secondAccording to media reports, a 74-year-old man pulled a cub from the mouth of an alligator during a dramatic rescue operation in the US state of Florida, thus saving his life. A half-minute video clip shows Richard Wilbanks jumping into a pond in the town of Estero and wrestling with the alligator holding the howling dog’s back firmly in its mouth.
According to media reports, the camera in the Wilbanks garden was installed as part of a project by the Florida Federation of Wildlife to document wildlife.
Hand injuries
Richard Wilbanks says he was sunbathing in his Lee County garden when he heard his three-month-old Gunner puppy howl. An alligator in his garden pond had grabbed the dog and thrown him into the water. “It was a shock, it happened so fast,” Wilbanks told local broadcaster NBC2.
He acted instinctively and jumped straight into the water. When he managed to hold the animal’s mouth open for several seconds with his hands, the Gunner was able to jump to safety.
The incident took place at the end of October. However, Florida Wildlife Federation employees accidentally discovered the recordings during a review last week. Since then, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has recovered from its bite wound, Wilbanks told CNN.
He himself suffered hand injuries and was later vaccinated against tetanus. Estero is on the west coast of Florida, about a two-hour drive from Miami.
