Alligator lunges out of water at Florida man

June 15 (UPI) -- A Florida man taking photos and video of an alligator he spotted in a pond at a public park said he was surprised when the reptile lunged out of the water at him.

Foster Thorbjornsen said he spotted the 8-to-10-foot gator in the water while he was walking at John S. Taylor Park in Largo.

"He was the biggest alligator I have seen in the wild," Thorbjornsen wrote in a Facebook post.

Thorbjornsen said he looked away from the reptile to check the zoom lens on his camera and the animal "quickly swam to shore and charged at me."

"The timing of his charge was deliberate. He waited for me to turn and look away. It was nerve wracking and intense," Thorbjornsen wrote.

Thorbjornson said he "only a step or two back before quickly taking more shaky videos and pictures."