Man survives after alligator had his head ‘inside its mouth’
A man has called his survival a “miracle” after his head became trapped in the jaws of an alligator.
Jeffrey Heim, 25, of Tampa in Florida, told NBC he was diving for megalodon shark teeth in a river on May 31 when he thought he had been hit by a boat.
“I thought it was a propeller, it hit me so hard,” he told NBC.
"I realised I was inside its mouth and if the alligator hadn't decided to let me go on its own, there was nothing I could have done to fight it."
Mr Heim told US outlet ABC he was bitten once on the hand and on his head. He believes it was a female about 9ft long and only attacked him to protect nearby offspring.
"I thought I was going to die right there,” he told Spectrum News.
He received more than 30 staples for the wounds to his head.
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Mr Heim is continuing to undergo recovery after the attack.
"The chance of me walking away from that is why it is a miracle,” he told NBC.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is currently reminding residents it’s alligator mating season and the reptiles are likely to be out and about more frequently.
Mating season is throughout May and June, which are warmer months in Florida.
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