Alligator Nearly Chomps On Employee's Leg At Colorado Gator Farm

The words “alligator” and “Colorado” are not two words that you typically expect to see together. There are, believe it or not, no alligators native to the incredibly dry and high altitude state. There are, however, a few alligator farms and parks scattered around for your entertainment.

Visitors of the Colorado Gator Farm in Mosca, Colorado, nearly witnessed something very few ever wish to witness, as a 12 foot, 600 pound gator named Elvis leapt for one of the employee’s legs during a demonstration. Elvis apparently got upset (or confused) when a turkey meant for his mouth was dropped in the water, instead, so he leapt towards Chad instead.

“Elvis wanted to eat the turkey Chad was offering. When the turkey didn’t land in his mouth, Elvis was focused on where he saw movement. It’s why whenever working with large reptile it’s always good to have a backup with you!” – Colorado Gator Farm

Though they don’t really look that quick, an alligator can move up to 30mph in quick bursts on land. That’s much faster than humans, even though they can’t continue that speed over long periods. While they’re moving further distances, alligators tend to move around 10mph. Even then, though, they don’t usually run further than 100 feet in one go.

In terms of bite power, alligators can chomp down with 2,000 pounds per square inch (psi), around 17 times the power of a human bite. For reference, a lion bite has the potential to reach just around 600 psi. I’m sure Chad is beyond glad that his leg didn’t wind up in the gator’s mouth.

I truly hope it goes without saying, but don’t try any of this at home. Don’t try to feed gators, don’t get close to gators, don’t do anything with gators except look and maybe take some pictures from a distance. These guys have training, and things still went wrong. Stay away from gators.