07/24/2025
Might save a life one day
In May 2017, ten-year-old Juliana Ossa was swimming in a designated area at Moss Park in Orlando, Florida, when a fun afternoon suddenly turned into a real-life nightmare. From beneath the calm surface, a massive alligator—nearly 9 feet (2.7 meters) long—lunged like a torpedo and clamped its powerful jaws around her leg. In an instant, she was trapped in the predator’s grip, paralyzed by pain and fear, while those around her were frozen in shock, unsure how to help.
But Juliana wasn’t an ordinary child.
Amid the chaos and pain, she remembered something remarkable: a tip from a previous visit to Gatorland, a wildlife park known for educating visitors about alligators. A trainer had once said, “If you stick your fingers in an alligator’s nose, it has to open its mouth to breathe.” Incredibly, Juliana acted on that memory. With astonishing courage, she reached out and pushed her fingers into the alligator’s nostrils. Just as she’d learned, it opened its mouth—and in that split second, she pulled her leg free and swam to safety.
She was quickly rescued and taken to Nemours Children’s Hospital, where she was treated for puncture wounds and released just a few hours later. Juliana’s story is more than just one of survival—it’s a powerful lesson in bravery, quick thinking, and resilience. Her incredible escape is now shared in educational programs across the country and stands as one of the most inspiring survival stories in modern American history
