Richard Wilbanks, 74, pried the dog out of the alligator's mouth — and never dropped the cigar from his own lips.

The kayaker says he survived thanks to a nearby tree that he used to quickly right the boat again.

The video shows the two gators locked at the jaw, growling and shaking.

The alligator gar can grow up to 3.5 metres in length.

The woman was reportedly trying to touch the animal when it grabbed her.

Police confirmed the same owners were involved in another headline-grabbing incident in December, when an alligator was filmed crossing a street in Montreal after slipping away from its handlers.

Montreal police confirmed that the reptile escaped a van parked nearby and was safely returned to its owner.

Officials couldn't say how the creature got there.

"I saw him swimming towards me, and I saw something sticking out of his head," described a witness when she first saw the alligator.

The cold-blooded reptile likes to rest his snout on Henney’s, and 'he likes to give hugs,' he said.