Representatives from the Houston-based troop said they expected the worst.

A Girl Scout troop’s trip to a lake in southeast Texas over the weekend turned into a scary encounter when they spotted an alligator swimming toward them.

A video provided to KPRC by Houston television station KSAT captured the alligator, about 14 feet long, heading toward Troop 114204 at Huntsville State Park Saturday night.

In an interview with KPRC, Girl Scouts and troop leader Nicole Glenn talked about the incident, saying they expected the worst.

“Tonight, I thought I was going to die,” Girl Scout Ava Miller said. “He was moving faster than us or about the same.”

The troop members were at Huntsville State Park, located in Huntsville, about an hour north of Houston, for an overnight stay while the Girl Scouts explored the park and fishing.

While swimming in a designated area, the men spotted an alligator swimming toward the children.

A video camera shows the girls making their way to shore in chaos. Scout Erin White said she was on a dock near the beach and jumped off, thinking her friends had left her behind.

The girl said she didn’t see the alligator until Glenn intervened and got between the animal and her troop.

” In conversation, I always say I love them to death. I always say I’m willing to do anything for them. Now I know I’m willing to do anything for them,” Glenn said.

No one was injured as a result. Glenn said it took them a few hours to realize what happened.

As the scouts told KPRC, the experience served as a lesson in vigilance.

” We were close enough to get injured, and I didn’t even know it was there. So I should probably pay more attention to my surroundings,” Erin said.

Although swimming is allowed in designated areas, alligators live in the park.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson told KPRC that numerous signs have been posted in the park to remind visitors about alligators, and there are discussions about installing additional signs.

Crocodiles generally avoid humans and rarely attack them, but TPWD officials said several alligators causing a nuisance have been removed from the park in the past.