Even if you live in an area where alligators are common, they’re still pretty scary. Well, maybe not if you’re Clair Hurta. The Texas tween went viral after her mom captured a video of her remaining shockingly calm as an alligator swam closer to her. While most people would have started screaming, the girl didn’t seem to let the scaly friend interrupt her wakeboarding. Her reaction and the proximity of the reptile has people absolutely shook.
In the video, which was taken by mom Crystal Hurta, the alligator quickly swims up behind 12-year-old Clair. The competitive wakesurfer was in the water of the Colorado River near Bay City, Texas, practicing when the encounter happened.
She is smiling and laughing while sitting on her board in the water. Suddenly, she glances behind her and only the top of the gator can be seen. But when she turns back to the camera, she’s not only calm, but she’s still smiling!
Crystal, who grew up in Bay City and is familiar with that part of the Colorado River, told Chron that the reptile was “pretty big.” It was the gator’s head that stood out in the water. And her daughter was still unbothered.
“Clair looked at it and just shrugged it off — she wasn’t worried. Now, a snake would make her walk on water,” she said.
@malibuwakeclm288 Nothing like Wakesurfing in your river and you see a gator swimming. Time to go!!!!#wakesurfing #gator #alligator #coloradoriver #seeya @Follow Brand #texas ♬ original sound – gypsygreeneyez47
It’s not uncommon to see an alligator catching some sunrays on the riverbed, Crystal explained. But just because she knows they’re there doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother her. “We know they are there, but seeing them isn’t something I like,” she admitted.
“She was surfing and once she fell and I went back to pick her up, I noticed the gator swimming across and was able to capture that moment. It was far enough away to where I wasn’t worried, nor was Clair.”
And the mother-daughter duo didn’t stay long enough to see if it got closer. “We took off after that and didn’t return to that area.” In the past, she has reported “nuisance gators” to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department if they get too close, she said.
People on TikTok were far more shook by the encounter than Clair or her mom seemed to be.
“She’s too unbothered for me,” one person wrote.
“Damn you guys are truly built different — don’t think I could do that,” another added.
“That would’ve went from wakeboarding to water walking real quick,” another commenter joked.
