North Port, Florida - A man who mistook a seven-foot-long alligator for a "dog with a long leash" is expected to make a speedy recovery after getting chomped by the reptile.

The encounter took place in the early morning hours near a motel in North Port, the Guardian reported.

The Florida man was about to go for a morning walk when he passed a bush in which an animal appeared to be hiding.

The man "noticed a dark figure moving along the bushes " the Sarasota Sheriff's spokesperson said in a statement.

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The man thought the animal it was a dog since it looked like it was tied to a long leash, but he quickly realized he was actually standing in front of a giant alligator.

Not quickly enough, as it turns out, as the gator snapped at him before he could get away. That "long leash" he thought he saw? It was actually the reptile's tail.

The man almost paid for his mistake with his life, but luckily, he escaped with a flesh wound. The alligator bit his leg and tore out a piece of tissue, but he was still able to get away as fast as he could.

"The victim has been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery," the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office confirmed.

Meanwhile, the alligator has been captured and released into the wild far from the motel.