Florida teen survives alligator bite to the head

A seventeen-year-old Floridian survived a surprise attack by an alligator while he took a dip in a swimming pool Monday, managing to escape after the reptile bit him on the head. 

Andrew Hudson was bitten as he swam with friends at the Little BIg Econ Forest in Florida's Seminole County Monday afternoon, when he was set upon by an alligator measuring an estimated nine to ten feet long. 

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"Basically we were floating down the Econ River, kinda swimming and then out of nowhere a gator came up behind me and just basically bit me in the head," Hudson said to WKYC. "And at first I didn't know what it was, so my reaction just started swinging and took off swimming as fast as I could to get away from it."

Thankfully, Hudson's friends were swift to react, as companion Mark O'Shea ran a half mile to a local forestry office to get help. "They looked at me like I was crazy. I'm like, 'My friend really got bit by an alligator,'" said O'Shea to the Associated Press. 

Paramedics soon arrived on the scene, who likely saved the teen's life by transporting him to South Seminole Hospital, wrote WESH.com. 

Alligator bites in America are rare but do happen on occasion, per statistics from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Stats last updated in November 2012 found seven bites took place in 2012, with 5 minor incidents and one major incident. The last fatality took place in 2007.