A brave paddleboarder has explained how he desperately tried to fend off an alligator as it savagely tore into a swimmer’s arm in a Florida river. By the time he reached the woman, the gator’s jaws were locked on her arm and he used his paddle to fight it off, he revealed. Mike Head used his paddle to fight off an alligator as it attacked a swimmer in the Silver River in Marion County, Florida, on Saturday. Head was out on the water with his wife and kids when he spotted the reptile heading toward the victim. Relatives told Fox 35 the victim is back at home recovering and in good spirits despite having her right arm amputated.