Brave Dad Rescues Trainer As Alligator Pulls Her Underwater At Kid's Birthday Party

Aug 20, 2021 by apost team

In West Valley, Utah, an animal trainer had a harrowing encounter with an alligator named Darthgator that could have been fatal had it not been for a brave bystander, Donnie Wiseman.

Donnie and his wife, Theresa Wiseman, were visiting the Scales and Tails reptile center on Aug. 14 for a kid's birthday party when Darthgator lashed out at his trainer.

As Theresa’s video of the occurrence shows, the animal trainer, Lindsay, attempts to get the alligator back into the water. “Back!” she shouts while showing him a hand sign and sticking her arm out. That’s when the alligator suddenly bites Lindsay’s hand and begins to pull her further into the enclosure, which includes a small pond.

As Lindsay tries to pull her hand out from the alligator’s mouth, the animal begins to thrash around, rotating his entire body and pushing the trainer into the water. At this point, onlookers have called for help. But given the situation’s dire circumstances, Donnie doesn’t wait around for others to take action. As Lindsay wraps her legs around the alligator, seeming to temporarily subdue him, Donnie jumps into the enclosure, mounts the alligator and begins to wrestle him until he calms down. Eventually, with the help of another bystander and a staff member, they are able to free Lindsay’s hand and get her out of the enclosure.

Since the incident, Scales and Tails have thanked Donnie and updated visitors regarding Lindsay’s condition on their Facebook page. Lindsay, who received medical assistance from a nurse who was on-site and was rushed to the hospital on Aug. 14, is expected to make a full recovery. Read on to find out more about the incident's aftermath.

“We want to send a huge shoutout to Donnie Wiseman and Todd & Amy Christopher! We want to thank them for their heroism. Working with some of these animals has inherent risks that we as the staff accept.  Yesterday, the sort of event that we hope never happens happened,” Scales and Tails wrote on Aug. 15.

“These gentleman could have stayed in the safety zone as most of us would, but instead jumped into the situation, of their own volition, and helped secure the alligator.  Their help, combined with the training of our staff member, probably saved her life and her limbs,” the reptile center added.

Since their initial posting, Scales and Tails has posted two additional updates: a message from Lindsay, the animal trainer who was involved, and another addressing Darthgator’s fate following the potentially fatal incident.

In her message to the community, Lindsay thanked her doctors and said that she should recover full use of her injured hand.

“I got lucky to land in a hospital that employs what has to be the best orthopedic surgeon in Utah. He was able to improvise and come up with a solution that should result in full use of my hand. I can’t explain the level of admiration I have for that man,” she wrote via the Scales and Tails Facebook page. “I definitely want to thank everyone that has reached out and for doing so, as well,” she added.

As for Darthgator, Scales and Tails wrote on Aug. 18 that “no harm will come to him,” as Lindsay and the reptile center both agree that the incident was not his fault. 

“We have never been under the illusion that he was a cuddly creature. He is an alligator and a wild animal at heart,” the reptile center wrote.

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What did you think would happen when you watched the video? Have you ever had a dangerous encounter with a wild animal? Let us know — and be sure to pass this incredible story of heroism on to others.