[imagesource: YouTube / Chum Dumpster]

You don’t need to be American to know that there are some alarming things found in Florida, such as crazy hurricanes and guitar-shaped hotels.

But honestly, the most notable of all has to be all the damn alligators.

One fisherman beat a hasty retreat after seeing this nightmare emerge from the water in the Everglades on Saturday, Huff Post reports.

22-year-old Tommy Lee (not that Tommy Lee, obviously) shared a video of him fishing for tarpon when an alligator chased him from his spot.

He runs, and we hold thumbs for him as the gator approaches.

Then he stumbles (crisis!), and we hold more thumbs for him.

The scarier part of the video might actually be when he walks back towards the gator, around a bushy bend, where he can’t see exactly where the animal is.

Thankfully, the alligator returned back into the water without a fight, although, I have no idea why Lee didn’t GTFO sooner:

It’s mating season for the gators now, making them more active, so Floridians have to be on high alert for an encounter that is waiting to happen.

Lee reckons the alligator was around 11 feet (3,35 metres) in length.

Experts say they could be present absolutely anywhere there’s water, and they mean anywhere:

“First of all, you need to watch every body of water, your bathtub, your swimming pool, your backyard pond, your mud puddles that your kids play in ― anywhere an alligator can be found right now, because alligators are on the run, especially the smaller ones that are easier to hide,” Gatorland’s Savannah Boan told Click Orlando.

“The big bull alligators are pushing all the little ones out because they want all the ladies to themselves.”

It’s a little sad that Lee didn’t say “see you later, alligator” instead of “and I am out of here, screw that.”

[source:huffpost]