Eric Merda, a Florida native, has recounted the terrifying moment an alligator attacked him while he was swimming naked across a lake near Myakka City in Manatee County. Speaking to the Soft White Underbelly YouTube channel, Merda explained that he had recently lost custody of his seven children from two relationships and was going through a tough period.
The Ordeal Begins
Merda ventured into woodland during a dark time, spending six hours battling through undergrowth. He located his van but found it parked on the opposite side of a lake, which he estimated to be roughly a mile to a mile and a half wide. Although he could have skirted around the lake, he opted for a risky aquatic shortcut.
Once in the water, his troubles mounted. He said: "I got caught in a current or they opened up the dam, I'm not really sure which. I was swimming in circles for hours."
The Attack
Merda described floating on his back, gazing at the stars, when the stars seemed to triangulate into the shape of an alligator. He said: "Man that looks like an alligator. And that's when I flipped over my stomach to see an alligator right next to me."
The alligator grabbed his forearm. Merda rolled over and grabbed its ribs to prevent it from rolling. The alligator snapped his arm backward and tried to drown him several times. He explained: "Eventually, the third time coming up, I couldn't touch the ground - I'm just kicking the water, my hand slipped off of its ribs and that's when it did its death roll and it pinched it shut for me so I didn't die."
Merda revealed the attack was extremely brief, likely lasting just a couple of minutes.
Escape and Aftermath
Despite the savage assault, Merda escaped the lake. He said: "I ended up swimming back to the shore where I basically came from. I found this stump, it was a tree.... I fell asleep by there for a few hours. I never seen a drop of blood, believe it or not."
Merda, who ran his own sprinkler business at the time, did not seek hospital treatment for three days, partly due to the time it took to make his way out of the swamp.
