In a gripping tale of man versus reptile, a Florida paddleboarder named Mike Head became an accidental hero over the weekend when he rescued a woman from an alligator attack in Marion County's Silver River. The alligator, clearly not having read the 'don't bite the hand that feeds you' memo, latched onto the woman's arm as she swam, prompting Head to spring into action.

Head, who was paddleboarding with his family, heard the commotion and saw the alligator strike. 'It was almost like a missile,' he told Fox35, describing the scene. 'I was probably 20, 30 feet away and I could see it going over to her. I was like, this can't be happening.'

Despite the chaos, Head kept his wits about him, paddling toward the struggling woman while wrestling with his own fears: 'Is she dead? Do I dive in? And now I'm going to get ripped apart myself.' He then used his paddle to whack the alligator, which had its jaws locked on the woman's arm. 'I couldn't swing because I knew I was gonna hit her in the head from my position, so I come around the other side... And then I swing because I can see it still, and I don't know if I hit it or not. I just know that it was gone.'

Another boater helped bring the woman to shore, where Head used a rope as a tourniquet. The woman, showing remarkable presence of mind, instructed him to 'tie it tight.' Local authorities later trapped a 9ft 8in alligator from the area, presumably to give it a stern talking-to.

This incident follows another tragic alligator attack in Florida this summer, where 31-year-old Brittany Clark died in Seminole County's Little Big Econ State Forest. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) notes that alligators inhabit all 67 counties, and as the state's population grows, encounters are becoming more common. The FWC advises against feeding alligators and recommends swimming only in designated areas during daylight - though perhaps also keeping an eye out for missile-like reptiles.