Florida Teen Recovering from Losing Arm to Gator [VIDEO]

A Florida teenager was all smiles a day after losing part of his arm to a 10-foot alligator while swimming in a river with friends. Smiles?! Yes, smiles, because he’s still alive! Kaleb Langdale, 17, was swimming with friends in the Caloosahatchee River in Moore Haven, Fla., on Monday, cooling off because of three digit temperatures.

According to ABC News.com, a friend of Kaleb started yelling from the bank, “Gator!” Within seconds, Kaleb found himself looking in the face of an alligator.

The gator dragged the teen under the water, but Kaleb managed to break free and start swimming away. It wasn’t long before the gator caught up to him, again.

He started pulling me down,” Kaleb said. “So I put my feet and I put it on his mouth, and I tried to jerk my arm off … and I started swimming back but I felt like a little tug.”

The gator pulled him under water once more, but this time Kaleb broke free for good, although without the lower half of his right arm.