A Colorado Gator Farm staffer was nearly bitten Monday by a 600-pound alligator named Elvis, video of the incident shows.
The staffer, Chad, stepped into the water and tried to demonstrate feeding the gator a raw turkey, as seen on video posted to the company’s Facebook page Monday. Chad apparently missed the gator’s mouth, stumbled backwards and slipped while the gator pursued Chad’s legs.
Fortunately, there was another staffer there to assist in keeping the gator at bay. Chad could even be seen smiling and laughing only seconds after the attack. (RELATED: Gator Goes Full Beast Mode On Snake Hanging Out In Backyard)
“Over the weekend Elvis had a hard time deciding if he wanted to eat turkey or Chad’s legs,” the company joked in a separate post. “Who knew a 12 ft, 600lb alligator could run so fast.”
“As you can see, Elvis wanted to eat the turkey Chad was offering. When the turkey didn’t land in his mouth, Elvis was focused on where he saw movement. It’s why whenever working with large reptiles it’s always good to have a backup with you!” the park wrote. “And special thanks to Chad for pretending he was afraid and giving the viewers something fun to watch. He wasn’t injured, and he promised to work on his turkey throwing aim.”
Colorado Gators is a Mosca, Colorado based company and serves as a rescue and educational facility for varying reptiles like alligators, caiman, and turtles, according to the company website.