Gator leaps into airboat, terrifies Florida tourists

Credit: Sam Greenwood

Credit: Sam Greenwood

Just a day after a massive gator's casual stroll took the Internet by storm, Florida tourists got the thrill of a lifetime, and it was caught on Facebook Live.

Tylor and Emerald Hindery took an airboat ride Tuesday during a vacation in Daytona Beach when an alligator decided to become a video star. As the airboat floated near a riverbank to watch the gator, Tylor Hindery began livestreaming the scene on Facebook.

In the video, the tour guide can be heard saying that he’d have to push away soon, then asking Tylor Hindery, “You can reach out and slap him, can’t you?”

A couple of seconds after the tour guide asks Hindery if he is nervous, the gator suddenly leaps off the bank and onto the boat, sparking screams and a massive commotion.

"We couldn't believe it was really happening," Emerald Hindery told the Orlando Sentinel. "Everyone was scrambling around and trying to get to the back."

Tylor Hindery struggled to steady his phone to get a better shot, eventually realizing that the gator just wanted to get out of the boat. After getting stuck in the railing briefly, the reptile returned to the water, leaving everyone frightened, but uninjured.

"My sister was watching it live and she said that she thought she was watching the end," Tylor Hindery laughingly told KY3.com, before adding that the couple is planning additional trips to Florida, when they might see something like a python fighting an alligator in a swamp.

The original video can be found here (WARNING -  STRONG LANGUAGE)

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