Visitors save handler's 'life and limbs' in alligator attack

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah reptile center employee is recovering after an alligator yanked her into its enclosure during a presentation, thrashing her around before a fast-acting visitor leapt inside and freed her from its jaws.

Video taken by a guest shows an unidentified handler at Scales and Tails Utah, in suburban Salt Lake City, talking to a small group of adults and children about the alligator Saturday when it bit her hand and pulled her into the water.

The alligator began thrashing around and kept its jaws clamped on the handler as she struggled to break free.

One of the guests, later identified as Donnie Wiseman, yelled “We've got trouble in here!” before jumping into the water and climbing on top of the reptile.

Another bystander ushered the children away as they cried, the video showed.

The handler calmly gave Wiseman and another man, Todd Christopher, instructions to help her escape from the pool. Wiseman stayed on top of the alligator, pinning it, until the woman was free.

Christopher's wife, who has a background in nursing, then began performing first aid before emergency crews arrived at the scene.

The West Valley City business said Sunday the handler is “doing well and is in recovery.”

“These gentlemen 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,” the company said in a statement. “Their help, combined with the training of our staff member, probably saved her life and her limbs.”