People terrified as gator suddenly appears out of nowhere and attacks in quiet river

People are flooding to social media in horror after seeing footage of an alligator surging out of the water with no warning... at all.

There's a reason I live in the UK. It may rain all the time and when we do get a surge of summer, we may complain it, 'Might actually be too hot,' but at least when we decide to go for a paddle, there's no chance of us being half-munched by any humongous, deadly animals.

A TikToker from Florida shared a video exemplifying why you have to be 'really careful about [your] surroundings' while in the Southeastern region of the United States.

Prepare to jerk back from your phone:

In the video, shared by TikTok user @comfyyyguy_17, the Floridian can be heard explaining why you have to be so careful around areas of water.

He says: "The water looks like nothing, but then, out of nowhere..."

The TikToker then drops a stick into the water beneath him and like a good dog playing fetch, an alligator pounces, breaking up from underneath the surface to grab it - like a horrible magic trick reversed, not there one second and then very much there the next.

"Yeah, a gator can just jump out at you," the TikToker adds. "Be safe."

TikTok/@comfyyyguy_17

The video has since gone viral on the platform, amassing over 700,000 likes and 20,000 shares.

People have flocked to the clip in shock over the gator seemingly appearing out of nowhere, completely undetectable in the water until it breaks the surface - not a single bubble, ripple, change in colour or reflection in the water as it passes under, giving no warning signs it's coming at all.

One TikTok user said: "I've watched (enter a large numerical figure) amount of times AND still don't see the gator."

TikTok/@comfyyyguy_17

"I watched that over and over again and still never can find the gator," another echoed.

A third user said: "Watched this 100x, still can't see where the gator was."

"It's crazy how he was prob 2-3 inches below the surface and you can't even see him," a fourth added.

The TikToker replied: "Like the camouflage is insane."

TikTok/@comfyyyguy_17

Other users, and fellow Floridians, warned about going too close to any area of water in the state.

A user said: "Am Floridian, can confirm that if there is even so much as a puddle, there will probably be a gator in it."

"In Florida, you just don't go in the water, EVER!" a second warned.

And a final resolved: "In FL never go into the sweet tea colored water unless you're ready to throw hands with a dinosaur."

Topics: Animals, Social Media, TikTok, Viral, US News

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.