'Scary' Video Catches Alligator Climbing Over Fence At Florida Park

A Florida woman caught something terrifying on camera recently: an 8-foot-long alligator climbing over a fence meant to keep away wildlife.

Selina Phillips filmed the shocking moment and posted the video to Facebook, which has over 65,000 views as of Monday morning (May 9). The short footage shows a gator climbing onto something before hefting itself over the fence, falling facefirst into the pond below. This happened on May 4 at Circle B Bar Reserve near Lakeland, according to the post.

"I didn’t actually spot the big gator (when she was walking past it), that’s the scary part. I had my back turned to the opposite side of the bridge and stopped to look at a great blue heron when I heard the noise — a strange loud, heavy clomping sound," Phillips told Miami Herald. "So I turned around and saw him half way up on the bench inside the fenced area where (humans) usually are. ... How did it get there? Did we walk past each other? Did it walk behind me when my back was turned or was he already there?"

The shaken Florida woman says she checked out the fenced area to look for the gator.

"It was sitting right there, hissing just under the bridge," Phillips recalls. "Seeing the climb and the strength and will power, I walked away more cautious. ... I am a native Floridian so I’ve seen lots of gators and still it was so very cool."