A Charleston fossil hunter survived a brutal alligator attack — and plans to keep diving – Garden & Gun

On April 15, the unthinkable happened to Will Georgitis of Charleston while diving in the Cooper River: A huge alligator attacked him as he surfaced, carrying him to the bottom of the waterway, where he continued to fight for his life with an empty oxygen tank. After narrowly escaping by wrapping his arms around the alligator, stabbing it in the eye with a screwdriver, and pushing himself up from the bottom of the river while ripping its arm from its mouth, Georgitis is glad to be alive .

But his story actually begins five years earlier, when he began purchasing a fossil online that he thought would make a unique gift for his sister. “In their descriptions, almost all of them stated that they were found in Charleston. I thought, what should I do to buy one of these? I just have to find her,” Georgitis recalls. He went kayaking with a friend to fish the beaches and look for shark teeth and was immediately hooked. The next day he went back again. “I just left my fishing rod in the boat,” he says. “I immediately realized I was addicted. I found my first (megalodon tooth) within a month.”

He soon began diving in rivers, attending gem and mineral exhibitions, and becoming involved in the fossil trade. (Check out some of his finds on his Instagram page @voodoofossils84.) “I love it so much that I quit my job and that’s all I do now, I just sell fossils,” Georgitis says . Exactly, it sells – present tense. Below we spoke to him about the attack, why he loves his work so much and what safety tips he has for other divers.

What is it like to dive in these rivers?

It’s overwhelming what’s really out there. You are in the coolest aquarium you could ever imagine. Every river has a different character when you get to the bottom. Some are racing very fast, some are slow and meandering, some are covered in algae, some are covered in barnacles. I go to different places to get certain types of teeth depending on what I want – Megs or Angustidens or Great Whites. It’s as close as possible to the feeling an astronaut would feel while flying through space. Diving in the rivers makes you feel weightless and in a world where you don’t belong. When you’re down there you forget the whole world above you. It is wonderful.

What are some of the things you saw?

There are all kinds of artifacts from throughout American history. There are pre-colonial Native American artifacts from 13,000 years ago to more modern Native American items. And then it transitions into colonial bottles, glassware and pottery, Civil War buckles and buttons, and musket balls. And what’s more, there are fossils there that are millions of years old. There is an amazing story in these waters.

You walk along these gravel bed edges and there are teeth in them. Sometimes there are two Megalodons or three Megalodons just lying on top of each other. Some of them are loose in the open, others are stuck. I came across entire animals stuck in the floor of the matrix, just like you would see in a museum. When I go out I always find something.

Was the location where you were attacked a place you frequented?

It’s funny that I haven’t visited this place since I started diving three or four years ago. I reminisce again and actually get caught.

How is the recovery going?

I had some complications. My arm is still pretty torn from the elbow down. There is a large wound where I tore it from the alligator’s mouth. Then there are a few puncture holes all over the top and another big cut where they cut me open and put the panels in.

Are you still shocked that this happened?

I’m even more in shock now. One of my friends knows someone who has an alligator skull and he said it came from a 10-foot alligator they hunted themselves. They measured the lower jaw, which would have caused the cuts on my arm. A ten-foot-long specimen had teeth just over ten inches wide from left to right. My injury is over nine inches wide. This alligator was probably more like a fourteen-foot gator, perhaps even larger. It’s even scarier to think back about it all. I’m still in awe that I was able to do everything I did.

Did you have any time to be scared at all right now, or were you just in survival mode?

To be honest, I was absolutely terrified. I can’t describe the speed at which she came towards me. It happened so quickly that only his tail and lower half were in the water. The rest was completely above the surface of the water, as if there was aquaplaning. And then its scope was just huge… Alligators are impressive creatures.

In some of my interviews it seems like I was calm, composed and thoughtful. But I screamed, thrashed, and thoughts raced through my head no, not that, not that. I had flashes of clarity. Throughout the entire fight, I realized that I was pretty much a toy in this thing’s mouth.

How aware were you of this danger?

We all know there are alligators out there. We see them all the time. Alligators are not interested in humans; They see us as a threat and simply leave people alone. I am one of the few people an alligator has seen, chased and attacked. Most of the time some chase is a territorial bluff. So they come towards you and then stop and wait to make sure you know they don’t want you to come any closer.

For this guy to come after me and attack me the way he did is an anomaly. So I wasn’t fully expecting it, but I wasn’t fully aware either. I had previously sat on the boat with my buddies, half-seriously, and talked about what we would do if an alligator ever got us. We would say I would do this and I would do that. It was all kind of a joke, but you know, I made those jokes. I packed it up immediately so it wouldn’t turn around. I chose the eye first.

What safety tips do you have for other divers now?

As a diver you generally have to be prepared for anything to go wrong. What to do when the air stops falling? What to do if this piece of your equipment breaks? What to do if you get tangled in fishing line? You have to have a plan.

Alligators should not go near the coast. Don’t portray yourself as food, which is what I did. I heard some fishermen talking and they said that there are a lot of wild boars swimming back and forth in this part of the river. I probably looked exactly like one. I should have moved a little further from the bank before I came up. I was already ten to twelve meters tall, but you just have to be doubly careful, even if you feel like you’re already in the safe zone.

Just try not to rely too much on your abilities. There are so many factors that are beyond your control. So when you have something under your control, you just have to be extremely vigilant. I hope most divers think twice about what they would do in this situation, especially now that this story is known.

Okay, the million dollar question. Will you continue diving?

I’m so addicted to it. It’s my business too. I just want to get back in the water. But I’m not just going to jump back in. I’m timidly going to get back into diving and go to places where I know for sure there are no alligators. At first I’m just doing quick, short dives to see if I can get through the post-traumatic stress disorder I know I’ll have. In some ways, fear is a good thing; We feel this emotion for a reason. It is a tool that I will add to my bill.

It will be a long road until I can start diving again like I did before, but I still can’t give it up. It’s the best job ever. Obviously I’m willing to risk my life for this.

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A friend set up an account to help Georgitis with his medical bills. Details can be found here– or buy a fossil from Georgitis via his Instagram account.