Florida woman survives nine-foot alligator attack thanks to snorkelling mask

A woman from Florida had a lucky escape while snorkelling when a nine-foot alligator attacked and clamped onto her forehead. She was spared from serious injuries due to her full-face snorkelling mask.

The incident took place last weekend when the woman and a friend were snorkelling at the Alexander Springs recreational area. An initially harmless snorkelling trip turned into a terrifying ordeal as a nine-foot alligator attacked her and bit her forehead.

A local photographer, coincidentally in the vicinity, managed to capture images of the aftermath, including a clear shot of an alligator lurking behind them. The woman, Marissa Carr, spoke in an interview, stating her disbelief at being bitten on the face by an alligator.

She had been snorkelling and swimming with a friend and was told that she was wearing a full-face snorkelling mask, not just goggles, which she believed could have saved her from more severe injuries.

“I pulled off my mask, and when I turned around, I saw two little eyes popping up from the water.”

Carr added that she was uncertain where the nine-foot creature had come from. Everything happened in a matter of seconds, so fast that she didn’t realise she had been bitten by an alligator, reported Fox 35.

“It doesn’t hurt much now, and when I was running back and was like, I saw what it was, that’s when it started to hurt. My forehead hurt a lot, and my neck didn’t hurt that much. It sounds bad, but being bitten on the head was probably the best place because if it had bitten my arm, I could have lost it.”

Shane, her friend, said he heard the splashing water and saw the alligator.

“I turned around to make sure everything was okay, and I saw the alligator. I saw her head in its mouth.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed the incident and revealed that the alligator involved had been located and removed. However, Marissa holds no grudges against the alligator and will not let this face-off deter her from snorkelling in the future.