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- Videos show the moment a Florida woman was approached by an alligator while paddleboarding.
- The woman uses her paddle to push the animal away, causing it to hiss at her.
- "I've never had a gator come after me like that before," the woman said.
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Videos show a woman fending off an emboldened alligator with her paddle while paddleboarding in Florida.
Vicki Reamy Baker posted videos of the incident to Facebook.
In one video, the alligator can be seen approaching her.
"What are you doing? Get away from me," Baker says to the animal. "Oh shit. No. Go away."
Baker can be seen using her paddle to push the alligator away, causing the animal to hiss at her.
"Ma'am, I would suggest backing up, considering you just made him pretty mad," a man tells her through a loudspeaker.
In another video, the alligator can be seen continuing to circle Baker.
"Why are you messing with me? Why are you trying to bite me?" she said.
"I've never had a gator come after me like that before," she tells the camera. "Look how close he is to me. He came after me and tried to bite my paddleboard."
Baker also posted images of her fending off the alligator, taken by someone else.
Baker noted in her Facebook post that she believed this alligator had been fed and had become dangerous.
Most alligators are naturally afraid of humans but may lose that fear when people feed them, according to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Several commenters on Facebook responded, saying Baker should not have provoked the animal by prodding it.
Alligators are commonly found in Florida, with the fish and wildlife commission estimating over a million of them in the state.
On average, Florida has seven unprovoked alligator bites a year that are serious enough to require professional medical treatment, the Commission said.