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There is a Texan alligator swimming around, minding its business, with a knife in its head. This bizarre sight was spotted by at least two witnesses in and around Pumpkin Lake in Sugar Land, Texas, last week.
The good news is that it doesn't appear to be suffering – the gator seems to be taking the fact that it has an actual knife lodged in its skull like an absolute trouper. The bad news is, it's an alligator with a knife in its head.
One witness, Erin Weaver, was taking her daily morning walk near Pumpkin Lake when she saw the animal.
"I saw him swimming and then I saw him turn, like swimming towards me, and I saw something sticking out of his head," Weaver told KTRK-TV.
"It looked like a steak knife that was sticking out of his head, I don't know if it was in his eye, but it looked, if it wasn't in his eye it was very close to his eye."
She says gators are not an unusual sight in the area but she's never seen them act aggressively. It makes her think this attack was carried out intentionally and not as an act of self-defense.
"I feel that somebody did this on purpose," she said.
"I can't imagine this animal going after somebody that they would have to defend themselves, because we've never had that happen before."
Others in the community have also raised concerns over the welfare of the alligator.
How an alligator ended up with a knife stuck in its head is a mystery unlikely to be solved any time soon. But how it survived a knife stuck in its head might be an easier one to explain.
Alligator researcher Frank Mazzotti told CNN that gator skin is covered in bony deposits called osteoderms that provide them with a body armor of sorts. Alligator skulls are also incredibly robust, leaving just a "very small target" to cause any serious harm. If missed, the object will get stuck in the skull without hitting the brain. Antibiotic properties in the blood will then accelerate the healing process, turning what could be a severe wound into something less serious.
As for this unlucky alligator, Barry Eversole from the Fort Bend County Game Warden's Office told NBC News last week that officials located the reptile on Friday. They will consider taking it for observation depending on how severe its injuries are.
