'I was hunted': Florida woman survives alligator attack

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida woman is lucky to be alive after a recent attack by an alligator near her backyard.

Rachél Thompson lives along the Hillsborough River in Temple Terrace, Florida, and said she's been going for short swims off of her dock since she first moved into her home.

She is aware there are alligators in the water but has always kept a close eye out for them.

"This mating season came and went, and I saw a lot more gator traffic and I saw a lot more gator activity," Thompson said.

Normally, after mating season, she said, things calm down and the gators stay away. However, this year, a male alligator started hanging around the area.

"I really feel like after five years of being able to watch their normal behavior that this is an abnormal year and this is abnormal behavior that we observed," Thompson said.

On July 3, she said she went for her usual swim.

"I had done a run, I had done aerobics, I had done a careful look, I had done a quick dip and everything had went as usual. Still didn't see him," Thompson said.

The next day, she went for her run and looked for the alligator once again. After seeing nothing, she went into the water.

But then, according to Thompson, she "saw his head appear in the dark water, from nowhere."

"It was next to my leg," Thompson said.

The alligator then bit down on her leg.

"I was hunted, I was truly this guy's prey," Thompson said.

She somehow managed to fight it off and pulled herself up onto the dock with a severe leg injury.

A friend took her to the hospital for emergency surgery. Her leg was broken and she suffered a very deep wound. But after the surgery, she said the doctor gave her three welcome words.

"Expect full recovery," said Thompson, who is now leery of going into the water.

"I'm sad about the situation because I feel like, in some ways, my paradise is lost," Thompson said.