Representative image
Representative image
A Florida man was heard screaming after being bitten by an alligator in a rare incident.

The victim had been swimming in Lake Thonotosassa, northeast of Tampa, when the attack occurred.

Speaking to Fox 13, a witness explained how it wasn't immediately clear what had happened. "I just heard a scream and I looked up, and I didn't see anything," they recalled.

The swimmer then emerged from the water with a "big gash" on his face. He wrapped his gaping wound in a towel and was rushed to a hospital.

"I didn't know what had happened. I thought maybe he hit a rock or maybe there was something that spooked him," said the witness.

However, looking at the injury, they were convinced it was an alligator bite. "I had a med kit in my car so I gave him gauze and an emergency kit to stop the bleeding and then the ambulance showed up," the witness told Fox 13.

The reptile is reportedly a "nuisance alligator" - a classification reserved for gators at least 4 feet in length and considered to be "a threat to people, pets or property", according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC).

Florida is home to about 1.3 million alligators and over 21 million people. Yet, alligator attacks are very rare as they typically only occur when these territorial behemoths sense a threat.

Trappers have been out to capture the gator that bit the man's face as locals have reported frequent sightings of the reptile said to be lurking the waters for four months now.

Earlier, a 9-feet-long alligator leapt out of water and ate an 18-kg Labrador while the family dog and his owner were at a park playing fetch.