A man has been killed after leaping into a marina inhabited by an 11-ft alligator.
Tommie Woodward, 28, suffered severe trauma to a limb when he was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning at a private marina in Southeast Texas.
Orange County sheriff's deputies and a Texas game warden found his body nearby about two hours later.
Tommie Woodward died after jumping into a marina inhabited by an 11ft alligator
Woodward, who was drinking in an outdoor bar, had been warned not to enter the water because of the beast.
He also ignored a sign reading: “No swimming, alligators” and jumped in, yelling “Fuck that alligator”, Orange County Police Captain Robert Enmon told Buzzfeed News.
He added: “It was pretty much immediate. He had puncture marks on his upper right shoulder and his left arm and elbow received severe damage. The alligator pulled him down and he came back up yelling.”
Woodward ignored a sign warning people not to swim
The owners of the marina recently had spotted a large alligator on a few occasions, and put up a sign warning people to stay out of the water, Enmon said.
The reptile could have been startled during the incident or was possibly protecting its habitat, Enmon said.
"You've got to remember that alligators are a predatory species, they are territorial, and they will take advantage of an opportunity," he said.
Authorities are not hunting the alligator but a private effort may be launched to capture it, he said.
This is the first fatal encounter with an alligator that Enmon can recall in his 25 years in law enforcement.