Swimming with the alligators seems frightening, but maybe swimming with an inflatable crocodile will throw them off your scent?
That must have been the thought process for Charles Wieand, who videotaped himself swimming in an alligator-infested pool at the Everglades Outpost in Homestead on top of an inflatable crocodile, The Daily Mail reports.
Wieand, who is from Columbus, Ohio, comes close to the tail of one of the alligators as he floats between the animals, who are tanning by the pool. “I've waded in with the alligators before, but I've always carried a stick,” he told The Daily Mail. “This time I thought I'd give it a go without and see what the reaction was.”
Their reaction was to just let him be, which surprised even Wieand. “I wasn't sure how they'd react to the inflatable and it was a unique experience to be directly on their level looking face to face,” he added. “I could see them looking at me deciding what to do, but fortunately none of them went for me.”
Wieand specializes in doing daring nature stunts which he posts on his with his YouTube channel, The Outdoor Adventure. He told The Daily News he has been working with the Everglades Outpost for two years, so he was familiar with the pool and the animals.
“I didn't feel any fear until a few hours later - I watched their feeding time, and these gators just tore a turkey to shreds,” he said. “I stood there thinking 'I was swimming with them a short while ago.’”
Read more at The Daily Mail.
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