‘Bone chilling’ video shows deer nearly walk over sleeping alligator in Florida woods

Twenty seconds of video recorded in a “pitch black” Florida forest is giving viewers chills on social media, after it caught the moment a deer almost stepped on a large alligator.

It was recorded near Lake Okeechobee using infra-red lighting equipment, according to photographer Bobby Wummer. The lake is about 100 miles northwest of Miami.

The video shows the deer was just feet away from stepping on the alligator when it caught a strange scent, froze in its tracks, then slowly backed away.

The doe begins to retreat when the roused alligator lifts its head and growls.

“At first she is oblivious to the presence of the gator. But soon she senses something and so does the gator, as you watch his eyes open up. He moves, growling as he does this to let the doe that he is surely in charge,” Wummer said, calling the moment a “hunter’s worst nightmare.”

“It’s eerie to think about (hunters) walking out there alone in the total darkness. ... Imagine walking out to set up your (deer) stand or climber and you accidentally come across this gator.”

The doe escaped unharmed and the alligator went back to sleep, video footage revealed.

Wummer shared the video (filmed earlier this year) with a warning that Hurricane Ian may have heightened the dangers in Florida’s wetlands. The storm brought 20 inches of rain and flooding forced wildlife far outside normal ranges, state officials say.

The area where the deer video was filmed is now covered in ankle-deep water, forcing “dangerous critters” to move farther out, Wummer told McClatchy News.

“I’m glad I waited till daylight to check my cameras cause sometimes I go in at early morning,” he told McClatchy News.

The alligator was estimated at around 6 feet, but it was “fat,” likely due to eating wild hogs, he said.

American alligators can reach 15 feet, according to Everglades National Park. They are “opportunistic” when it comes to feeding on mammals or anything else that crosses their path, experts say.

The video has been viewed more than 700,000 times on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as of Oct. 17, with some calling it “bone chilling.” Others said Wummer has given them something new to be afraid of in the dark.

“Imagine for one moment if you will, being lost in the wilderness at night and then hearing this. My soul would leave my body,” Kelly Lowe wrote on Facebook.

“Sounds like a dang dinosaur came out of nowhere,” Jamaree Thornton posted.

“Just hearing that gator growl would stop me in my tracks and wish I was somewhere else!” Sharon Jones wrote.

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