Mike Heard used his paddle to strike gator that had latched on to swimmer in Silver River after hearing yells of ‘Gator!’

A Florida paddleboarder rescued a woman from an alligator attack in Marion county over the weekend.

On Saturday, an alligator bit the woman on the arm while she was swimming in the Silver River, according to local reports citing Marion county authorities.

Burmese pythons are an invasive species in the Everglades, and the challenge is part of initiative to remove them

The winner of this year’s annual Florida Python Challenge hunted down and eliminated 96 invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades national park, as part of an initiative to remove hundreds of the snakes from the area every year.

The challenge invites hunters to participate in 10 days of capturing and humanely euthanizing as many of the invasive snakes as possible across eight designated hunting locations, with the winner taking home a cash prize of $10,000. The event is hosted by Florida fish, wildlife and conservation (FWC), the south Florida water management district, the National Park Service and others.