Incredible moment reptile expert Chris Gillette dubbed ‘Crocodile Chris’ blows playful bubbles at killer alligator called Casper as they swim together saying: ‘He would bite me in the face if I didn’t move out of the way’

Incredible scenes have shown daredevil reptile expert Chris Gillette playing underwater with a deadly alligator in Florida.

In the stunning images ‘Crocodile Chris’ can be seen blowing bubbles at Casper to showcase the Underwater Gator Tour at the Everglades Outpost.

For the tours, a single guest is allowed to swim with the alligator in Chris’ company to see how the predator moves within a 30,000 gallon aquatic habitat.

Chris said: ‘Gator trying to bite me in the face? Nah it’s just Casper feeling around while I blow bubble rings at him.

‘I mean, he would bite me in the face if I didn’t move out of the way.

In the stunning images ‘Crocodile Chris’ can be seen playing with Casper as part of the Underwater Gator Tour at the Everglades Outpost in Homestead, Florida

Reptile expert Chris Gillette in the water with an alligator. For the tours, a single guest is allowed to swim with the alligator in Chris’ company to see how the predator moves within a 30,000 gallon aquatic habitat

‘When he does this, he has his eyes closed and is feeling around underwater.’

The underwater tour experience allows you to swim with an alligator, with just a net barrier between you and the reptile.

It is designed for serious underwater photographers and wildlife enthusiasts aged 16 or older and costs $250 for a 30-minute session.

Visitors are not allowed to touch the alligator, but they can get close enough to study the behavior of the reptile.

Casper is one of 15 alligators and four crocodiles at the Everglades Outpost. Gillette has been working with the reptile for more than 12 years.

Chris holding Casper at the Everglades Outpost. The underwater tour offered by the educational organization is designed for serious underwater photographers and wildlife enthusiasts aged 16 or older and costs $250 for a 30-minute session

He had been deemed a ‘nuisance alligator’ by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission more than a decade ago, according to Adventura Magazine.

‘People want to do this, and I needed to find a way to be able to satisfy this demand,’ Chris told the publication. ‘That’s when I came up with this idea for people to do this in a responsible way. We’re in no way encouraging people to ever interact with or try to swim with a wild alligator.’

To sustain his ‘quarterback build,’ Casper lives on a steady diet of frozen rats. 

‘He will bite the hand that feeds him,’ Chris said. ‘He is not drugged or specially trained. He was not raised with us since he was a baby. He was caught when he was only 6 inches smaller than he is now.’

Chris underneath Casper and swimming beside him as he smiles for the camera at the Everglades Outpost

The Everglades Outpost in Homestead is a non-profit 501c(3) educational organization created in 1991 by Bob Freer and his wife Barbara. Their main objective is to take in hurt and injured wildlife, rehabilitate them, and release them back to the wild.

Most of the animals staying at the wildlife sanctuary have been confiscated from illegal or abusive situations by wildlife, fish and game officers, or have been abandoned by their human owners.

The rehabilitation facility provides medical care and treatment to the sick and injured. Whenever possible, the animal is released to its natural habitat.