Texas Dad’s Quick Actions Save 4-Year-Old Daughter from Alligator’s Clutches

A Texas family is breathing a sigh of relief thanks to the quick-thinking actions of the father who saved his four-year-old daughter, who was nearly attacked by an alligator.

The nearly 12-foot long alligator targeted 4-year-old Brandalyn Grande, who was outside playing with her babysitter and her brother on Friday along the creek adjacent to her family’s residence in League City, KPRC reported.

“He was headed straight for her, there’s no doubt that’s where he was headed,” said Andrew Grande, Sr., who was in the backyard when he spotted the alligator’s head bob up an down in the water.

“Came straight up to the bulkhead and sunk back down,” Grande added.

Grande said he ran towards Brandalyn and the babysitter, Robin Randolph. The family said it was apparent that the gator made a beeline for Brandalyn as prey.

After Grande got both the babysitter and Brandalyn to safety, he called the game warden, which led to him calling an alligator hunter.

Alligator sightings happen in the area, but those that do happen are not usually 12-feet long.

The alligator hunter was able to place a rope around the alligator’s head. But it took nearly three hours, several people, several plywood boards, and a lot of courage to tape the animal’s mouth shut to get the animal out of the water.

Both the family and the alligator are safe. Grande said the alligator hunter took the 12-foot long creature to Gator Country in Beaumont, Texas, where he hopes the family can one day pay it a visit.

Grande is not the only dad who saved their child from an alligator attack in Texas. In June 2015, a father saved his teenage son after he was bitten by an alligator while swimming in Lake Charlotte, CBS News reported.