OCALA (CBSMiami/AP) – A nearly 12-foot alligator that swam within inches of a frightened paddleboarder at Silver Springs State Park last September has been killed.
In multiple videos and photographs posted to her Facebook page, Vicky Reamy Baker, of Ocala, can be seen sitting on her paddleboard as the gator slowly glides through the water right up to her paddleboard.
In the videos, Baker can be heard saying, “What are you doing? Get away from me, get away from me,” as the large gator approaches.
Eventually, she says, “Oh sh-t, no, go away,” before pushing it away with her paddle.
But that didn’t work. It made it mad and hissed at Baker.
In another video clip, she talks to the gator, “Why are you messing with me? Why are you trying to bite me?” she said. “What the heck man.”
She then tells the camera, “I’ve never had a gator come after me like that before. Look how close he is to me. He came after me and tried to bite my paddleboard.”
The videos went viral.
WATCH: Gator Hiss As She Pushes It Away With Paddle
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According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it contracted a trapper to kill the gator last month.
Will Parker, who was issued the permit by the state, assigned the job to a colleague, Al Roberts, who killed the gator on February 22nd.
In this Feb. 22, 2022, photo taken by paddler Brady Toensing, 54, licensed alligator trapper Al Roberts stands with a nearly 12-foot alligator killed in Silver Springs State Park. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed that the alligator killed Feb. 22 was the same one seen in startling videos and photographs in the fall swimming near a paddleboarder who pushed it away with her paddle. (Brady Toensing via AP)
The alligator had been a popular curiosity among kayakers and paddleboarders at the park where it was often seen lounging along the banks of the Silver River.
Wildlife experts said the gator’s behavior was mostly like the result of people illegally feeding it and the animal associated paddleboarders with food.
It’s rare for people to be seriously hurt by gators in Florida, but it does happen. Most alligators are naturally afraid of humans but may lose that fear when people feed them, according to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.
There are alligators in all 67 Florida counties and more than 200,000 alligators in the Everglades.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)