A father's parental instincts instantaneously came into play when an 8-foot large alligator went into attack mode on his 6-year-old son.

According to WFTV, Joseph Welch was planning on enjoying a day of canoeing in Boynton Beach, Fla. with his son, Joey Welch, who abruptly wandered away, entered the dangerous waters and was attacked.

"I ran into the water. It was about waist deep. I had my son like this here, because I didn't want to play tug-o-war with the alligator. While I'm doing that, I'm punching the alligator on top of the head as hard as I could," said Joseph Welch.

"I heard these blood curdling screams and I saw this gator that had his right arm in his jaw and I just freaked," he added.

While the father was throwing punches, a stranger rushed to the water and kicked the gator in the stomach, and it then released Joey, who incurred only minor injuries.

Luckily, the gator only ended up leaving teeth marks on Joey's stomach and arms.

"He just swam to me and clamped my arm. He didn't wait for a second," said Joey.

The federal agency stated on Monday that trappers caught and killed the 8-foot-long alligator.

Tags: offbeat