Watch: Giant Gator Snags Boy’s Fish

An opportunistic alligator with a taste for fish recently gave a little boy a lesson about the two types of critters in the world: the quick and the hungry. Casting itself in the role of the quick, the beefy gator swam up to the boy’s catch and snagged it right off his line. With the rather big fish in its jaws, the happy gator turned tail and swam away.

A video of the reptilian thief in action was posted on the Bass Masters and Fish Experts Facebook page. The page’s owners are now trying to unravel the mystery of just where the incredible wild encounter was filmed.

Only a few clues are evident on the video. The little boy who lost his catch is named Connor. The fish on the line, some fans of the page say, is a redfish. That means the thievery probably involved a Florida gator, they assert.

The video has been viewed more than 11 million times since Bass Masters posted it earlier this month.

See also: Florida Alligators: What You Need To Know

Mystery aside, the video serves as an excellent reminder that Florida is practically synonymous with critters of the toothy kind. With the temperatures outside starting to warm up, there are things residents and visitors alike need to know about alligators to help make sure encounters such as Connor’s have happy – or at least comical – endings like his did.

The first thing folks need to keep in mind is that the Sunshine State is home to an estimated 1.3 million alligators. That means they’re likely to be found in all parts of the state: a message the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission frequently shares.

“You are likely to find alligators in almost every body of freshwater in the state at some time or another,” said Gary Morse, FWC spokesman. “Alligators also frequent brackish waters and are sometimes found in saltwater where they will remain for short periods.”

The first rule of living with gators or visiting a state where they are so abundant, Morse said, is to “never approach an alligator – appreciate it from a safe distance.”

See also: McDonald’s Loving Gator Gets To Stay With Florida Woman

While alligator encounters can happen any time of the year in Florida, the critters are more active during hotter periods.

“All reptiles are more active in warmer months,” said Morse. “The body temperature and activity levels of alligators and other reptiles is directly related to the temperature of their surroundings.”

To help people stay safe around alligators, the state has created an educational brochure that Morse recommends all residents and visitors check out.

“It’s imperative that people become informed about alligators and alligator safety,” he said. “Go to our website at MyFWC.com and read the Living With Alligators brochure.”

Despite the state’s bustling alligator population, serious attacks and fatalities are not common in Florida. Between 1948 and 2013, there were 22 fatalities recorded, according to FWC records. During that period, a total of 122 minor bites and 235 major bites were also logged. The last fatal alligator attack on record prior to 2015 occurred in 2007.

The number of fatalities has increased over the past two years. In 2015, a 62-year-old man swimming in Blue Springs State Park died as a result of an alligator attack. A 12-1/2-foot alligator was captured and euthanized following that attack. In 2016, the state witnessed what was perhaps one of its most publicized fatal gator attacks. Lane Graves, 2, had his feet in the water at Disney’s Seven Seas Lagoon when an alligator reportedly came up and snatched him. His father attempted to rescue his son, but he was unsuccessful, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.

Alligator-related human fatalities might not be common, but encounters with the creatures are. Those encounters add up to so many over the course of any given year that the state has set up its own hotline to accept nuisance alligator calls. That number is 1-866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

A glitch seemed to have cropped up on Bass Masters' post of the video Tuesday afternoon, but Best Fishinghad its own copy with more than 3.8 million views. Check it out below:

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission