Movie fans have often wondered who would win between Godzilla and King Kong.
They finally got their wish in the crossover blockbuster flick.
But Godzilla vs. Kong took a backseat to one epic brawl in a Florida river that will stun you.
Bear versus alligator
A Florida kayaker watched in awe as a black bear beat back two alligators while crossing a river in the Orlando area.
Tyler Futrell recorded the fight in the St. Johns River as the black bear repelled two alligators who thought they had found a quick meal.
Futrell, a resident of DeBary, Florida, told Orlando’s News 6 that he was kayaking near the mouth of the Wekiva River where it intersects with the St. Johns River when he regarded something in the water.
He initially believed it was a wild hog trying to swim across to the other bank.
Futrell explained, “I grew up around here, so I’m pretty used to seeing hogs and whatever. . .But a bear is a pretty rare sight, so it didn’t even cross my mind.”
The Sunshine State has roughly 4,000 black bears that live in the wild.
Futrell remained in his kayak and hung back about 100 feet away from the bear, then began filming on his cell phone as the bear crossed the river.
Futrell said, “I didn’t want whatever this was, for me to just come up and bump into it because that’s going to turn a great morning into a really bad one.”
Black bear fights off two alligators
Futrell recorded an alligator wading toward the bear with its eye barely peeking above the surface of the water.
“Oh man, alligator comin’ to say hi,” Futrell commentated in the video.
The black bear gave the alligator a powerful swat with its paw that splashed water about, and the alligator quickly retreated.
The bear continued swimming toward its destination on the other side of the river.
“Oh, s***!” Futrell exclaimed after the fight.
He added, “Go for round two! Go for round two!”
Believe it or not, the black bear encountered another alligator.
The frustrated bear growled and gave the alligator another powerful swat, then moved forward.
Black bear fends off 2 attacks by gators as it crosses the St. John's River in Central Florida.#FloridaProblems
story 👉 https://t.co/NhQewfVopw pic.twitter.com/MVUdLgsCFT
— SFDB (@sfdb) June 5, 2024
The black bear made it to the other side of the river, then vanished into the woods.
Futrell said, “It was just kind of annoyed and ready to get out of the water.”
After getting beat down by the bear, the alligator smacked its tail on the water.
“Mr. Alligator’s pissed,” Futrell added. “I’ve never seen that before in my life.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, black bears are proficient swimmers who can easily cross rivers and have been found swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida is of course well known for its alligators; more than 1.3 million alligators can be found in the state.
Tyler Futrell got to experience nature’s version of Godzilla vs. King Kong with the heavyweight bout he witnessed on the St. Johns River.
Only in Florida.
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
