Texas dad saves 4-year-old daughter from 500-pound alligator

LEAGUE CITY, Texas — A Texas dad is being praised for acting quickly to save his young daughter from a 500-pound alligator.

According to the Houston Chronicle and CNN, the incident occurred last month as Andrew Grande's 4-year-old daughter, her brother and their babysitter were playing by a canal near the family's League City home. Grande, who was inside the house, looked outside and saw the large reptile rushing toward the girl, the outlets reported.

"I had a gut feeling it wanted my daughter as a snack," Grande, 40, told the Chronicle.

Grande raced into action, grabbing his daughter and lifting her over the gate to their backyard, he told CNN. He also ushered his son and the babysitter to the other side of the fence, according to the news outlet.

For the next half-hour, the alligator, which was more than 11 1/2 feet long, backed off and returned multiple times, Grande told CNN.

Grande called alligator hunter Thomas Reynolds, who enlisted the help of two game wardens, Austin Shoemaker and Jennifer Provaznik, and several neighbors, the Chronicle reported. They eventually captured the reptile and relocated it to a Beaumont theme park, according to the newspaper.

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Cox Media Group