Insane Video Catches Moment Utah Animal Handler Gets Attacked By Alligator

A Utah animal handler had to be rescued after being attacked by an alligator at a local petting zoo, reported KSL. The incident happened at Scales and Tails Utah in West Valley City.

Scales and Tails posted on Facebook about the incident, writing:

“Working with some of these animals has inherent risks that we as the staff accept. Yesterday, the sort of event that we hope never happens happened. One of our gator handlers got bitten by our large alligator and things took a bad turn.”

Videos of the incident show the moment the handler’s hand was clamped in the alligator’s mouth. A bystander jumps in the take to help and yells, “We’ve got trouble!”

Shane Richins, owner of Scale and Tails, said that the alligator is typically “mellow,” but the trainer could have made a “slight misstep” that caused the incident.

Richins said:

“I hope no one thinks it's a good idea to just run out and hop on a gator because they saw it, but they probably saved her arm and possibly her life by running in and stabilizing him so he couldn't keep rolling on her, and then they just held him still until he relaxed and let her go.

We never expect someone to jump in like that, but we're super grateful they did.”