This week, we are in total awe of 10-year-old Juliana Osa, who has made headlines around the world for fending off an alligator who attacked her last weekend.
The little girl was sitting in shallow waters in a lake in Moss Park, Orlando, when the nine-foot-long creature bit into her leg.
Recalling Saturday’s incident for Inside Edition an incredibly brave Juliana revealed that while she was initially scared of the creature, she was soon able to recall a life-saving tip she had learned while visiting alligator theme park Gatorland.
“I stuck my two fingers up its nose so it couldn’t breathe – it had to be from its mouth – and he opened it, so it let my leg out,” she said, adding, “I was scared at first, but I knew what to do.”
We just got this photo of the gator that bit the 10 yr old. The alligator was caught by a trapper. pic.twitter.com/NbeWsiGGmH
— Julie Salomone (@JSalomoneWFTV) May 7, 2017
Thankfully, Juliana’s step-uncle was on hand to help pull the little girl to shore, and a paramedic stepped in to treat her. Meanwhile, lifeguards on duty in the area reported the incident to authorities.
Brave Juliana was rushed to hospital, where she was treated for multiple puncture wounds to the back of her left knee and her lower thigh. She was given over a dozen stitches and was bandaged up by doctors, but thankfully she is recovering well this week.
The creature, meanwhile, was euthanised following the terrifying incident.
The courageous Juliana has been only too happy to give interviews to the media this week, and even shared her own nugget of advice for anyone who finds themselves in a life-threatening situation with an alligator or a crocodile: “Do the same thing, don’t be scared.”
The 10-year-old girl who pried the jaws of an alligator open to break free explains what happened. https://t.co/3jADf3BAOy pic.twitter.com/NPupJ09SGu
— NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) May 9, 2017
We are so relieved to hear that there was a positive outcome to this story, particularly in light of the frightening reports that have reached our newsfeeds over the past 12 months.
Indeed, who could forget the harrowing story of little Lane Graves, the two-year-old who was snatched by an alligator at Disney World, Florida, last year?
The tot was paddling on the shore of the hotel the family were staying at last summer, when the creature grabbed him and pulled him into the water. Despite best efforts by the emergency services to locate Lane alive, his body was found 17 hours later.
The Graves family later released a statement thanking authorities for their tireless work, describing themselves as ‘devastated’.
