A boy is expected to make a full recovery after fighting off an attack by a 400-pound, 9-foot-long alligator while swimming in a St. Cloud, Florida lake. The alligator remains at large.

“First I thought someone was just playing with me and I didn’t know what happened. I reached down to go grab it and I felt its jaw, I felt its teeth,” said nine-year-old, James Barney Jr., in an ABC interview. “I didn’t know what to do. So I immediately reacted and started hitting it. And I had enough strength to pry its jaw open.”

Stunningly, Barney’s punches surprised the alligator enough to allow him slide out of its jaws and swim to safety. Once Barney arrived at the hospital, doctors treated thirty different teeth marks, including one with a tooth still embedded in the skin, which Barney understandably would like to keep as a souvenir.

“I want to put it on a necklace so that I can tell all my friends.”

Officials from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife department said there have been about two dozen unprovoked alligator attacks across Florida since 2011, according to the local news affiliate. This attack occurred when Barney, after riding his bike, decided to “take a dip” in a no-swimming section of the lake.

When asked if he had any advice for swimmers, Barney responded “Don’t go into that lake.”

Smart kid.