SARASOTA, Fla. — A Sarasota County family is warning its neighbors to be on alert after an alligator pounced on their dog and dragged it into a lake.

An alligator killed Darryl Mizer’s 50-pound keeshond Noah on Tuesday. A trapper tried to locate and catch the animal but has not been able to find it.

Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, says dogs resemble an alligator’s natural prey, and that such attacks are not uncommon.

Mizer, a retired psychologist, said Noah was fighting cancer and had to go outside a few times each night. At about 2 a.m. Tuesday, the dog wandered near the lake and was attacked.

via Alligator attacks, kills Sarasota family’s dog – Florida AP – MiamiHerald.com.

Alexander Alcantare loves animals, but he has the worst luck when it comes to handling them.

Having already lost one arm in an attempt to save some birds, the South Florida man nearly lost his other arm last night when he was bit by an alligator he was trying to help.

The incident happened around 9 p.m. Sunday when Alcantare spotted the gator in distress in some water near his home in Northwest Miami-Dade.

“I figured I’d trap it and try to get it some medical attention,” said Alcantare.

He went running to the rescue of the 8-foot alligator, which had been struck in the head with an arrow. Alcantare said it was roaming helplessly in the water.

“So I baited a hook, I got it, I brought it over here,” he said. But the gator wasn’t grateful, and it struck back.

“I couldn’t really handle him too good,” Alcantare said. “The guy I asked to help me, he got scared and let go of the rope and since I couldn’t secure his mouth, he got me.”

The gator got him on his good arm. Alcantare said he lost his other arm trying to rescue baby birds from an electrical fence that burned him so bad, his arm had to be amputated.

“That’s why I couldn’t handle him too good like before, but I did pull him out of the water,” he said.

He also called police, but when investigators arrived, they cited him for possession of an American alligator.

Now the man with an animal attraction is once again left hurt after trying to help.

“That’s what happens when you deal with wild animals, you’re going to get bitten,” admitted Alcantare, who was also attacked by a tiger once in the Congo.

Alcantare said since the gator bit him, wildlife officials will have to euthanize the gator.

via Gator Attacks Bad-Luck Animal Lover | NBC Miami.

BOSTON (AP) — Canoeists and crew teams are an everyday sight on the Charles River in Needham. Alligators aren’t quite as common.

But on Thursday, canoeist Topher Cox of Needham spotted a four-foot long alligator in the river.

He took a picture with his cell phone, then used it to call 911. Eventually, Michael Ralbovsky from Rainforest Reptile Shows found the gator and grabbed it with his bare hands.

Ralbovsky told The Boston Globe on Friday that the reptile didn’t fight much because it was cold. It was spotted as early as Saturday, likely after its owner illegally released it.

Ralbovsky said the animal was healthy. He said it will be used in Rainforest Reptile shows until it gets too large, when it will be transferred to an alligator farm in Texas or Florida.

via WCSH6.com | Portland, ME |.

BURR OAK, Mich. – A southern Michigan man who encountered a 34-inch alligator while picking corn said he clubbed it to death because he feared it could attack someone if left alone.

But St. Joseph County’s animal control officer said Jeff Adamski’s reaction was a “little extreme.”

“Hopefully, this guy doesn’t think he’s a hero,” Tom Miller said Friday.

Responding to the screams of two women, Adamski said he grabbed a bar from his truck and killed the alligator last week in a field near the Michigan-Indiana border.

“I backed away and he darted at me,” Adamski told the Sturgis Journal, describing what led up to the killing. “I backed up faster and he darted faster.”

Adamski, 45, of Burr Oak, said he has four children and he killed the alligator to prevent it from attacking someone.

“What if you took a 5-year-old kid in to pick corn and it latched on?” he said.

Miller, however, was upset to hear about the death.

“Thirty-four inches long – that’s easy to handle. That’s a one-hand grab. … They could have put a barrel on top of it and it wouldn’t be going anywhere,” he said.

Miller, who is president of the Michigan Association of Animal Control Officers, said the alligator could have been taken to a private alligator sanctuary in Athens, 30 miles north.

The alligator was probably someone’s pet that had been released or had escaped, said Steve Chadwick, a biologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. He doubts it would have survived the winter outdoors.

Adamski said he asked his brother-in-law to come get the alligator and put it in a freezer.

“I wasn’t done picking corn yet,” he told the newspaper. “And no one would have believed me. They’d say ‘What time did you start drinking?”‘

via Mich. man kills 34-inch gator while picking corn | jconline.com | Journal and Courier.

Chicago – An alligator that was spotted in the Chicago River Sunday and evaded capture Monday was caught by an expert on Tuesday.

The 3 foot long animal was spotted under the Belmont Street bridge, and a reptile expert who goes by “Alligator Bob” was able to sneak up on it and catch it.

FOX Chicago News cameras spotted the gator Tuesday morning after a reported sighting Monday afternoon. It was seen sunning itself in the river several times since then.

Wildlife experts set traps Monday night, hoping to catch the creature before it hurt anyone. Alligator Bob, who goes by the name to protect his identity, worked with animal control to trap the gator.

He works with the Chicago Herpetological Society and is not an employee of animal control, but the department works with him on reptiles because he is more knowledgeable and experienced in catching them, said Executive Director of Animal Care and Control Cherie Travis.

“They don’t belong in Chicago, they belong in the souther states,” Bob said.  He said they would try to find a new home for it in Florida after a period in quarantine.

Children along the river were asking him if he’s the man that catches all the gators.  He said he’s caught many, but some have gotten away.  This particular alligator seemed to have been a tricky one.

Travis said Alligator Bob caught the last gator in the river in less than a day.

Alligators are not native to Chicago, and experts believe the ones found in the river were bought as pets when they were young and abandoned when they got too large.

Bob suspected the animal liked the part of the river where it was originally spotted because the water was stagnant and had a layer of scum on top of it.

Travis said the animal wouldn¿t be able to survive the winter.

Alligators are about 9 inches long when babies, but can live 30 years and grow to be over 10 feet.

It is a crime in Chicago to abandon an animal where it can be a public charge or suffer injury, hunger or exposure. There is also a civil liability if someone is injured by the animal.

Travis said anyone who buys a pet but realizes they can no longer take care of it should call animal control for help in finding it a sanctuary.

via Gator in Chicago River Captured by Expert ‘Alligator Bob’.

MARRERO, LA (WAFB/WWL) – An LSU graduate student is recovering after an alligator attack in which she almost lost an arm.

The attack happened at Jean Lafitte National Park on the Westbank of New Orleans.

Yu-Hsin Hsueh is an LSU science student. She was at the park doing research on bald cypress trees for her PhD.

She said she leaned over to get a sample of soil and water when the seven-foot alligator, which was hiding underneath the boardwalk, grabbed her arm.

She said she’s still not sure how she got away.

“It was so scary,” she said. “I cannot imagine if I lose my hand at that time.”

The 29-year-old has a long way to go to recovery.

The alligator broke her arm, ripped tendons and crushed a finger joint.

She now has a plate in her arm and has a lot of physical therapy to go through.

via LSU grad student survives vicious gator attack – WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Local doctors were able to save the arm of an LSU graduate student from Baton Rouge after a rare attack by an alligator.

It happened July 28 at Jean Lafitte National Park on the West Bank.

Park Rangers say because people feed wild alligators, some can no longer distinguish between the food in hand and the hand that feeds them.

An LSU science student was doing research for her Ph.D. in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park in Jefferson Parish. She’s studying how bald cypress trees can better survive the stress of salt water. And that’s when the accident happened.

The researcher, Yu-Hsin Hsueh, 29, was on the boardwalk and she stooped to lean over and get a sample of soil and water. That’s when the alligator that was hiding underneath the boardwalk came out and grabbed her arm, breaking several bones. It went into its death roll pulling her and thrashing, but then Hsueh was able to get away.

The rangers can only speculate that she got away because the alligator opened its mouth to re-grip her arm. Rangers say there would have been no way Hsueh could have pulled away on her own because the jaw of the alligator is very powerful.

“It was so scary. I can not imagine if I lose my hand at that time. I scream all the time,” Hsueh said of the attack, which lasted about 10 seconds.

Hsueh barely weighs more than 100 pounds. The female alligator was 7 feet long and between 200 and 300 pounds. There are almost no documented cases of wild alligators attacking a human and none in the 30 years that the 23,000 acres of Jean Lafitte has been managed. The rangers say it’s from people feeding the gators, which is dangerous and illegal.

“Once an alligator comes to associate a person with food, then instead of running away from a person that’s walking down the boardwalk, or instead of submerging as they often do, they’ll actually move toward what they believe is a source of food,” explained David Muth, the Jean Lafitte National Park chief of resources.

Rangers have tried in the past to retrain alligators to naturally ignore humans again. It doesn’t work. Relocating them doesn’t either, they just return. So the alligator was euthanized.

Hsueh has a long road ahead of her with healing, physical therapy and more surgery, possibly to replace a crushed finger joint and repair tendons. The metal pins sticking out of her hand and arm come out in six to eight weeks, but the internal metal plates stay for life.

Hsueh’s orthopedic and hand surgeon is Tulane’s Dr. Kathleen A. Robertson. She performed surgery about 10 days ago.

“Outcome for her is going to depend. She’s young and she doesn’t appear to be infected. So she should heal bones. If she gets infected then we have a problem to stop and start over to cure the infection,” Robertson said.

Hsueh’s parents back home in Taiwan have not seen her since the attack.

“They cried. I actually didn’t tell them the truth in the first place. I tell them, like, bicycle acciden,t but then I could not make lies because they keep asking more questions,” she said.

And doctors say Hsueh has still never complained of pain.

Research is temporarily suspended in the park so rangers can determine that each scientist’s methods are safe. And there are signs there reminding visitors about proper safety with wild animals.

Hsueh only has limited student health insurance. Friends and fellow students and professors have set up a bank account to help her pay for all of her medical bills. You can donate at any Home Bank. Here’s a list of locations.

via Doctors save student’s arm after alligator attack | New Orleans News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | wwltv.com | Featured Videos.

If “Shark Week” has made you fearful of jumping into the ocean, you might want to consider the dangers of tromping through the American wetlands. Over the past decade, more people have perished at the mouths of alligators than those of sharks in this country.

Nine people have died from U.S.-based shark attacks, while 13 were mortal victims of alligator attacks, according to statistics from the Florida Museum of Natural History and the fish and wildlife commissions of Florida and Georgia.

Meanwhile, American crocodiles have never killed or even bitten anyone in their native Florida, but they certainly have the chops to do it. Three decades ago, their numbers had dwindled to about 300. Thanks to conservation efforts, they’ve moved off the Endangered Species list and now boast a current population of close to 1,800.

Millions of humans recreate daily in oceans, lakes, canals and marshy areas without ever having to fend off a sharp-toothed attacker, but it’s always good to be aware of potential danger.

An upcoming Discovery Channel program called “Croc Attack” focuses on residents of Darwin, Australia, who learn that changing weather patterns and suburban sprawl are prompting crocs to slide back into areas thought safe for swimming. In one of the worst cases, an 11-year-old girl is eaten by a saltwater croc several miles up a freshwater stream.

So how likely are crocodilian attacks in the Southern United States?

“I think you’re more likely to be killed by a falling vending machine than by an alligator,” scoffed Florida Fish and Wildlife Agent Lindsey Hord, a leading national expert on American alligators and crocodiles.

Asked whether he’d rather die from a falling vending machine or by a crocodilian dragging him to the bottom of a swamp, he promptly responded, “neither.”

But wild animal attacks wouldn’t make such popular TV shows if that primal fear weren’t still so prevalent in humans.

Crocodiles, once prevalent in Darwin, were nearly wiped out by hunters during the first half of the last century. That made it safe for humans to develop the area and enjoy recreational activities along its coastlines and streams.

Similar scenarios took place in Florida during that era. The state’s population exploded with the dawn of air conditioning. Since then, people have flocked to the state for its sunshine, beaches and pristine wetlands, all assets crocodilians can certainly appreciate.

In Darwin, crocodiles are moving back home to find humans encroaching in their old stomping grounds. In Florida, better enforcement of wildlife protection laws and suburban sprawl increase the chances of crossing paths with a croc or gator.

So how do you take precautions to avoid a grisly crocodilian encounter?

By and large, both alligators and crocodiles are opportunists, said Hord. They aren’t likely to go chasing you down on the poolside patio. In fact, when they’re out on land, they generally aren’t looking for prey, Hord said.

However, if either reptile starts hissing or snapping at you, just get out of its way, and if you can’t do that, call 911. Operators can patch you through to a wildlife hotline.

“Certainly an alligator or a croc is going to defend itself, but leave it alone and it’ll return to the water,” Hord said.

“If you make good decisions, then there’s no reason to be irrationally afraid,” he added.

On the rare chance you do find yourself or a loved one clenched in the teeth of a crocodilian, experts say fight with all your might.

“Smack them and punch them in the nose, eyes, and head, and fight them with everything you have,” said Todd Hardwick, owner of the Pesky Critters trapping program. “Most of the time they’ll let go and move off.”

And remember, experts say, crocs and alligators are just trying to do their part for the ecosystem.

“Crocodilians are top-level predators. They keep other populations healthy by stopping them from overpopulating,” said Hord.

via Croc, Gator Attacks Far Outpace Sharks : Discovery News.

MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. (WPRI) – A man made an unusual discovery in a Middleborough river last week.

He says he fished a two-foot long alligator from the Nemansket River Friday.

The man took the reptile to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Middleborough.

It was held there until Massachusetts Environmental Police could come to pick it up.

Police are not sure where the alligator came from.

It is illegal to keep them as pets in Massachusetts.

via Alligator fished from Mass. river | WPRI.com.

FORT MYERS: The teen who lost his hand in an alligator attack spoke publicly Friday for the first time since Sunday night’s accident.

Tim Delano spoke about the attack that left him without his left hand, even joking a bit and being thankful that he is right-handed.

Delano was swimming in a canal in Golden Gate Estates when an 11-foot alligator pulled him underwater.

Delano was able to free himself from the gator’s “death roll” by punching the reptile with his right hand.

“I shortly realized that this is for real, I opened my eyes, I saw the gator’s face doing the death roll. I could see the bottom of his mouth,” he said. “I just took my hand and screamed. You could see my muscle, bone moving around.”

He says immediate shock took over. Delano and his friends jumped in his truck. They called 9-1-1, and then he made one more important phone call.

“I said, ‘Hey mom, my hand got taken off by an alligator. I’m on my way to the hospital. I love you, goodbye, hope to see you again,’” Delano said.

He was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where attempts to reattach his severed hand were unsuccessful because doctors feared his hand was infected.

Delano says the constant reminders – even from his parents – make it hard for him to cope with what happened.

“They were sitting across from me and all I could look at was their left hand and just started breaking down,” he said.

But Delano says he still has something to look forward to. His doctor is working to get him a prosthetic hand.

“That’s what is giving me hope and I can move on with my life a little bit, but just one step at a time,” he said.

Saturday, the Palmetto Ridge Marching Pride – the band Delano was in – is holding a fundraiser car wash for him.

It’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at “E’s Country Store” at Immokalee and Oil Well Roads in Golden Gate Estates.

via Gator attack victim speaks publicly for first time – ABC-7.com WZVN News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida.

NAPLES — Beside Alligator Alley in Golden Gate, there is a canal that locals have named “the Crystal.”

Tracy Cusick, 39, and Chris Kight, 49, parked their van and set their white plastic chairs underneath a shade tree beside the Crystal, their favorite swimming hole, to enjoy some “tranquility.”

Cars repeatedly swoosh by on the interstate, but the trees act as a buffer between the couple and civilization.

“Normally when they drive past they, blow their horn at us,” Kight said.

In some places of the canal, the clear water makes it easy to see the bottom. Fish dash by and the surface of the water sometimes ripples as they go. In other parts, which Kight thinks can be as deep as 40 feet, the water is mysterious and dark.

Cusick and Kight have visited the Crystal to swim, fish and meet with friends for about 20 years, but they are worried they may have to fight to keep the swimming hole open after a gruesome alligator attack on Sunday left a young man without a hand.

Tim Delano, 18, was attacked by a 10-foot alligator while swimming in the canal with friends Sunday evening. The gator clamped its mouth around Delano’s left hand and then severed it when the teen got away.

Friends drove Delano a couple of miles to get help. Delano was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering. A tracker, sent by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, later trapped and killed the gator.

Delano wants people to stop swimming at the Crystal. “I hope they shut it down, so no accidents like this will happen again,” he said.

Kight said what happened to Delano was a first.

“It was a freak accident,” Kight said.

Although Cusick and Kight were the only mid-afternoon swimmers at the Crystal Monday, Kight said there were about 75 people there Sunday.

People were listening to music, barbecuing and swimming in the canal, according to the couple.

“It’s just a hangout,” Kight said.

Parents bring their children to swim and fish.

“The kids are never unattended,” Cusick said.

The day of the accident, Kight and Cusick left before it got dark, around 7 p.m., because they won’t swim in the Crystal past sunset.

“A gator feeds at night like a shark does,” Kight said.

Unlike Delano, they have seen gators in the waters before. “Any canal you go in there’s a chance,” Kight said.

Kight learned what happened to Delano from a television news report later that night. He knew it was the Crystal right away.

“I recognized a tree,” Kight said.

There’s still a dried pool of blood where Delano stood after he got out of the water. Kight pointed it out on the dirt road. He said they are glad Delano survived, but they’re worried their favorite swimming hole won’t.

“It would really bother me if they shut it down. There aren’t places to swim,” Cusick said.

She thinks it might be a good idea to post signs warning people about the potential dangers or to let them know what to do to stay safe.

“Everyone knows anyway, but to refresh their memories,” Cusick said.

But if there is a push to ban people from swimming in the Crystal, Kight said he’d start a petition to fight it.

“There will be a lot of people to sign it,” he said. “It’s the last swimming hole we have in Naples.”

via PHOTOS: Alligator attack doesn’t deter locals from swimming in the Crystal » Naples Daily News.

The victim of an alligator attack could have his hand sewn back on after police retrieved it from the animal’s stomach.

Timothy Delano, 18, was attacked by the 10ft beast while swimming with two friends yesterday evening in a canal at Naples, Florida.

He was today recovering in hospital after being airlifted there and doctors are hopeful that they may be able reattach his hand.

Vicious: An American alligator like the one that attacked Timothy Delano in Florida

His attacker was tracked down, killed and his stomach was ‘harvested’, said Gabriella Ferraro, a spokesman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

She said of the mission to retrieve Mr Delano’s hand: ‘Our goal is always to make a person whole again.’

However, she warned that people should recognize that any fresh water body in Florida could have alligators.

She said those animals are most active at dawn and dusk.

via Alligator victim could get back hand after police retrieve it from 10ft beast’s stomach | Mail Online.

GOLDEN GATE ESTATES — An 18-year-old Golden Gate Estates man, who lost his hand after an alligator attack in the Estates on Sunday night, may be getting back what he lost.

Timothy J. Delano, 18, was swimming in a drainage canal called “The Chrystal” near the intersection of Everglades Boulevard and 42nd Avenue when a 10-foot alligator bit his left hand off, said FWC spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro.

Delano and two companions fled the canal and went to a gas station at Wilson and Golden Gate boulevards to call 911 at approximately 9:30 p.m., said Collier Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman Cherie Wilson-Watson.

Delano was airlifted to the Lee Memorial Hospital trauma center in Fort Myers by Collier EMS, officials said.

Ferraro said a trapper was able to find the attacking alligator last night. The gator was “harvested” and the victim’s hand was found in its stomach.

Attempts could be made to reattach the Delano’s hand, Ferraro said.

“Our goal is always to make a person whole again,” she said.

Delano is in good condition, reported Lee Memorial spokeswoman Pat Dolce.

Ferraro said people should recognize that any fresh water body in Florida could have alligators. She said those animals are most active at dawn and dusk.

via Alligator bites 18-year-old’s hand off; gator caught and hand recovered » Naples Daily News.

NAPLES, Fla. — A man is hospitalized in southwest Florida after an alligator bit off his left hand.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro said the man was swimming with three friends in a Collier County canal around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the alligator attacked.

The men swam to shore and drove to a gas station, where they called 911.

A helicopter flew the victim to a Fort Myers hospital. His name was not released and his condition early Monday was not known.

Ferraro said the 10 foot 2 inch alligator was captured. The hand was retrieved from its stomach and flown to the hospital.

Wildlife officials advise people to stay out of freshwater canals and lakes this time of year because alligators are more active, especially around dawn and dusk.

via Man Loses Hand In Alligator Attack – Orlando News Story – WKMG Orlando.

An alligator attacked a man and bit off his hand in Golden Gate Estates late Sunday.

Collier County emergency personnel and sheriff’s deputies, along with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responded, emergency dispatchers reported.

The man was airlifted to the Lee Memorial Hospital trauma center in Fort Myers, officials said.

An alligator trapper was searching for the alligator Sunday night.

via Alligator attacks Golden Gate Estates man, bites off his hand, authorities say » Naples Daily News.

WEST ASHLEY, SC (WCSC) — What started out as an early morning dog walk turned in to a battle of life or death for William Belch of West Ashley.

Belch said he was walking his grandchildren’s German Sheppard, Dutchess, near a community pond in the Hamilton Grove subdivision around 7 a.m. Sunday.  Suddenly, according to Belch, a sharp movement in the water caught the attention of Dutchess who broke free from his grasp and headed directly toward the water.

“It was so quick!” recalled Belch.  “Like a snake striking out!”

Within seconds, what Belch described as an eight foot alligator had Dutchess in its jaws, dragging the 80-pound dog into the water.

“I knew it was my grandchildren’s dog and that I would have no way of explaining to them that [the dog] had been killed by a gator, so I just reacted on instinct.”

Which meant Belch was going to get in the water. He spent the next 30 seconds in a three-way tug of war; one hand pulling Dutchess, the other thrashing the alligator on the nose.

After a trip to a local veterinarian Dutchess will make a full recovery. The dog has some scarring on her legs and skull.  While animal safety is a top concern, admits Belch, it’s not his only worry.

“The neighborhood is lined with houses, all filled with small children,” Belch said.  “Something is going to happen. Something tragic. I just know it.”

Belch’s daughter, Joanna Robbs, said she has called her homeowners association as well as the Department of Natural Resources about alligator problems in the past.

“Usually they tell us [the alligators] are more afraid of humans and pets than anything else,” Robbs said. “Clearly, this isn’t the case.”

Robbs and Belch both say that, in their observation, the alligators that do inhabit the pond make their way from a heavily wooded swamp area that surrounds much of Hamilton Grove.  Robbs also said that the Department of Natural Resources has told her that due to the close proximity of the alligators natural habitat to the neighborhood, it is hard to do anything drastic about the situation.

“They expect us to live side by side, but that just isn’t safe,” Robbs said.  “An alligator can grab an 80-pound dog, it can grab a 50-pound child.”

Both Belch and Robbs agree killing the alligators is not the best method of control, however.

“Fences, barricades, something,” Belch said. “Something has to be done before it is too late.”

Follow up calls to the Department of Natural Resources and the local homeowners association will be made when offices resume business on Monday Robbs said.

via West Ashley alligator attack spikes safety concerns – CHARLESTON, SC NEWS – LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, Sports.

WEST ASHLEY, SC (WCSC) — What started out as an early morning dog walk turned in to a battle of life or death for William Belch of West Ashley.

Belch said he was walking his grandchildren’s German Sheppard, Dutchess, near a community pond in the Hamilton Grove subdivision around 7 a.m. Sunday.  Suddenly, according to Belch, a sharp movement in the water caught the attention of Dutchess who broke free from his grasp and headed directly toward the water.

“It was so quick!” recalled Belch.  “Like a snake striking out!”

Within seconds, what Belch described as an eight foot alligator had Dutchess in its jaws, dragging the 80-pound dog into the water.

“I knew it was my grandchildren’s dog and that I would have no way of explaining to them that [the dog] had been killed by a gator, so I just reacted on instinct.”

Which meant Belch was going to get in the water. He spent the next 30 seconds in a three-way tug of war; one hand pulling Dutchess, the other thrashing the alligator on the nose.

After a trip to a local veterinarian Dutchess will make a full recovery. The dog has some scarring on her legs and skull.  While animal safety is a top concern, admits Belch, it’s not his only worry.

“The neighborhood is lined with houses, all filled with small children,” Belch said.  “Something is going to happen. Something tragic. I just know it.”

Belch’s daughter, Joanna Robbs, said she has called her homeowners association as well as the Department of Natural Resources about alligator problems in the past.

“Usually they tell us [the alligators] are more afraid of humans and pets than anything else,” Robbs said. “Clearly, this isn’t the case.”

Robbs and Belch both say that, in their observation, the alligators that do inhabit the pond make their way from a heavily wooded swamp area that surrounds much of Hamilton Grove.  Robbs also said that the Department of Natural Resources has told her that due to the close proximity of the alligators natural habitat to the neighborhood, it is hard to do anything drastic about the situation.

“They expect us to live side by side, but that just isn’t safe,” Robbs said.  “An alligator can grab an 80-pound dog, it can grab a 50-pound child.”

Both Belch and Robbs agree killing the alligators is not the best method of control, however.

“Fences, barricades, something,” Belch said. “Something has to be done before it is too late.”

Follow up calls to the Department of Natural Resources and the local homeowners association will be made when offices resume business on Monday Robbs said.

via West Ashley alligator attack spikes safety concerns – CHARLESTON, SC NEWS – LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, Sports.

In the heavyweight championship bout of the animal kingdom, a giant crocodile defeated a shark in a TKO – and then enjoyed a victory seafood dinner.

Two boats full of tourists got the photo opportunity of a lifetime after the 16-foot crocodile’s decisive win on a river in Australia’s Kakadu National Park Saturday morning, the country’s Northern Territory News reported.

“Nearly 100 people saw it all…and they were jumping for joy,” tour guide David Cameron told the newspaper. “They said this had made their Kakadu trip.”

The loser, a bull shark that had meandered up the aptly named South Alligator River in search of food, was about 10 feet long before it was bitten in half. The croc had the home-field advantage because the seagoing shark was swimming through fresh water at the time of the attack.

Cameron, a former park ranger, told the newspaper it’s not the first time he’s seen the two species fight for a berth at the top of the food chain.

“With the wildlife here, you just don’t know what you’ll get to see,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it.”

via Giant crocodile eats bull shark in nature’s battle of heavyweights.

An environmental scientist had his jaw broken during an alligator attack while snorkeling in the Silver River Tuesday but was otherwise recovering from the attack Wednesday.

Peter Butt was in fair condition Wednesday and is expected to make a full recovery from a bite by the 11 1/2-foot reptile, said Wes Skiles, owner of Karst Environmental Services, an Alachua County firm that Butt and Skiles started in 1987.

“He is expected to make a full recovery,” Skiles said. “It was a completely out-of-nowhere attack. It was just bam.”

The attack happened about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as Butt, 54, was checking water samples when the alligator attacked, biting him in the neck.

Butt was flown by helicopter to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. A trapper worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to locate the alligator Tuesday night, after which the 500-pound reptile was killed.

In addition to the broken jaw, Butt had cuts and bruises from the bite, according to the Shands statement.

Butt was working on the Silver River with a colleague, Tom Morris, as part of Karst’s ongoing work concerning water quality and the aquifer.

Morris had checked water samples in that area just a short time before Butt did. Morris called for help when the gator attacked.

There was speculation Wednesday as to the factors that might have contributed to Butt’s encounter with the alligator. But those familiar with gators suspect bad luck was the primary factor.

The attack, which occurred outside the Silver Springs attraction, had no correlation with alligator mating season, which starts in mid-April and lasts until around mid-July, according to Lindsey Hord, an alligator biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a coordinator for the agency’s statewide Nuisance Alligator Program. Likewise, he said there is no factual basis for the notion that alligators display aggression because of territoriality.

Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the FWC, said Butt is an experienced diver and had been coming to the same site for a few months.

“You can be careful and experienced and still get [bit],” she said. “Wild animals are unpredictable.”

Swimming at dusk, at night and early in the morning can put people at risk because those are alligator feeding times. However, Butt was snorkeling at around 5 p.m., so Hill said she thinks it was just bad luck in this case.

FWC’s policy is to remove any unprovoked alligators that have endangered a human’s life, Hill said. Those alligators are dubbed “nuisance” after they have bitten someone.

FWC’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program issues a permit to remove a nuisance alligator after evaluating the report of the attack.

“We value human life over the alligators,” Hill said. “And there are no shortages of the alligators.”

There are about 1.3 million alligators in Florida, according to the FWC website. Of the 517 recorded alligator bites that have occurred since 1948, just 22 were deadly.

The total number includes unprovoked and provoked bites; the latter includes bites that happened while alligators were being handled or intentionally harassed. The last fatal bite was recorded in 2007.

“It’s very unlikely to get bitten by the alligator at any time,” said Hord, the alligator biologist. “Alligators are not something people should have an irrational fear of.”

After the alligator attacked Butt, it stayed in the same place in the Silver River until Jerry Ziegler and Al Roberts, gator trappers for the FWC, arrived a couple of hours later.

By not leaving, the 11 1/2-foot-long reptile showed no fear of humans, which suggested that the alligator was accustomed to being around people, Hill said.

Most of the time, alligators stay in the same place after an attack, Hord said. He said alligators become more habitual over time when exposed to people who don’t threaten them. Feeding the alligators speeds up the habitual behavior and is illegal.

Ziegler, a licensed nuisance alligator trapper, said he and his partners, Roberts and Will Parker, sold the meat and hide to B&W Meats, a processing facility in Hawthorne, soon after they trapped and killed the alligator.

Ziegler, who has been catching alligators since August 2009, said this trapping wasn’t much different from others he has done. The trappers set up bait for the alligator and caught the animal pretty quickly.

“We go out after gators all the time,” he said. “It’s what we do.”

via Victim of gator bite is in fair condition | Ocala.com.

SILVER SPRINGS, Fla. –

Authorities released 911 calls Wednesday after a diver was bitten by an alligator in Marion County.

The attack happened at Silver Springs Park in Marion County Tuesday afternoon.

A state wildlife officer said authorities want to know whether the alligator was being fed. The officer said the reptile was well-known to park employees and even had a nickname.

A co-worker talked to 911 operators just minutes after the alligator attacked research diver Peter Butt.

“He was out looking at a little spring, and this gator came and attacked him. He’s got some slashes and cuts,” the caller said.

The attack happened under a boathouse just off Silver Springs property. State wildlife officers questioned why the alligator showed no fear of humans.

“It exhibited characteristics you wouldn’t find from your typical lean-and-mean gator, meaning it didn’t have to work too hard for its meals,” Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Lt. Don McMillan said.

Friends of the victim said Butt was working in a small canal near Silver Springs testing the health of the aquifer. He apparently didn’t see the alligator that is known to employees of the park.

“When I spoke to the staff at Silver Springs, they said his nickname is Floyd and he’s been around 20 years,” McMillan said..

A park spokesman declined to appear on camera but said it’s against park policy to feed the alligators and everyone knows that.

via 911 Calls Released In Alligator Attack – Orlando News Story – WESH Orlando.

SILVER SPRINGS, Fla. –

Authorities released 911 calls Wednesday after a diver was bitten by an alligator in Marion County.

The attack happened at Silver Springs Park in Marion County Tuesday afternoon.

A state wildlife officer said authorities want to know whether the alligator was being fed. The officer said the reptile was well-known to park employees and even had a nickname.

A co-worker talked to 911 operators just minutes after the alligator attacked research diver Peter Butt.

“He was out looking at a little spring, and this gator came and attacked him. He’s got some slashes and cuts,” the caller said.

The attack happened under a boathouse just off Silver Springs property. State wildlife officers questioned why the alligator showed no fear of humans.

“It exhibited characteristics you wouldn’t find from your typical lean-and-mean gator, meaning it didn’t have to work too hard for its meals,” Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Lt. Don McMillan said.

Friends of the victim said Butt was working in a small canal near Silver Springs testing the health of the aquifer. He apparently didn’t see the alligator that is known to employees of the park.

“When I spoke to the staff at Silver Springs, they said his nickname is Floyd and he’s been around 20 years,” McMillan said..

A park spokesman declined to appear on camera but said it’s against park policy to feed the alligators and everyone knows that.

via 911 Calls Released In Alligator Attack – Orlando News Story – WESH Orlando.

Nuisance Gator Trappers for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Jerry Ziegler, left, and Al Roberts, right, move an 11 and a half foot Florida Alligator in the back of a pickup truck after trapping and killing the large male after the gator attacked Pete Butt at Silver Springs Attraction in Silver Springs, Fla. on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. Butt was taking water samples for the St. John’s River Water Management District when he was attacked by the gator in an area of water called the Fort King Canal. Butt was airlifted to Shands in Gainesville with a possible broken jaw and serious face and neck lacerations.

via A researcher was snorkeling in the Silver River on Tuesday when an alligator bit his neck and possibly broke his jaw. | Gainesville.com.

(CNN) — A 55-year-old researcher was attacked by an alligator Tuesday while diving on his job at Silver Springs Amusement Park in Ocala, Florida, authorities said.

The victim, identified as Peter Butt with the St John’s Water Management District, was bitten around the head and neck, and may have suffered a broken jaw, said Miranda Iglesias, a spokeswoman for Marion County Fire Rescue.

Emergency personnel were able to keep him alert and he was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. His condition was not immediately known.

Butt was checking water dye traps in a canal area restricted to the public, according to Joy Hill, a spokeswoman with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“He was in the water most of the day and was aware of the alligator’s presence,” Iglesias said.

Butt was diving with at least one other person, she added, but he was not in the water at the time of the attack.

The second diver “had gotten out of the water and had walked away. He returned when he heard a yell,” Iglesias said.

Butt was able to get out of the water and away from the alligator, she said.

Authorities said the alligator was 11.5 feet long. Video showed a group of several men with the company Nuisance Alligator Trappers struggling with the weight of the 550-pound alligator as they removed it from the water. The alligator was later destroyed, Hill said.

via Alligator attacks man diving at Florida amusement park – CNN.com.

SILVER SPRINGS — A High Springs researcher was snorkeling in the Silver River on Tuesday when he was attacked by an alligator that bit his neck and possibly broke his jaw.

Nuisance Gator Trappers for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Jerry Ziegler, left, and Al Roberts, right, move an 11 and a half foot Florida Alligator in the back of a pickup truck after trapping and killing the large male after the gator attacked Pete Butt at Silver Springs Attraction in Silver Springs, Fla. on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. Butt was taking water samples for the St. John’s River Water Management District when he was attacked by the gator in an area of water called the Fort King Canal. Butt was airlifted to Shands in Gainesville with a possible broken jaw and serious face and neck lacerations.

Peter Butt, 54, is operations manager for Karst Environmental Services Inc. of High Springs. He was checking water samples about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday when the gator — measured at 11 feet, 3 inches long — bit him, according to Eric Hutcheson, a friend of the victim.

Butt was taken by helicopter to Shands at the University of Florida, where he was listed in critical condition Tuesday night.

According to Hutcheson, the victim was working with a colleague, Tom Morris, as part of Karst’s ongoing work concerning water quality and the aquifer. Morris had checked water samples in that area just a short time before Butt did. Morris called for help when the gator attacked. The incident happened outside the boundaries of the Silver Springs attraction.

Karst Environmental Services is a consulting firm west of High Springs that provides scientific services having to do with springs, sinkholes, rivers and other ecosystems.

A trapper worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to locate the alligator Tuesday night, after which the alligator was killed.

via A researcher was snorkeling in the Silver River on Tuesday when an alligator bit his neck and possibly broke his jaw. | Gainesville.com.

An 11 1/2-foot alligator attacked an environmental consultant snorkeling in a canal at the Silver Springs attraction in Ocala on Tuesday, biting his neck before he escaped and was taken to a hospital.

Pete Butt, 54, of High Springs was working with dye in a canal to monitor the flow of water when the 500-plus-pound gator chomped on his neck, said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Butt, who was wearing a snorkeling mask and fins, managed to swim to a dock and hoist himself out of the water, she said.

A co-worker, Tom Morris, heard Butt holler for help and saw him holding his neck to stop the bleeding, said Miranda Iglesias, a spokeswoman for Marion County Fire Rescue. Fire officials treated him, and he was flown by helicopter to Shands Hospital in Gainesville.

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A nursing supervisor said he was in good condition several hours after the attack. Hill said the njuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

The attack happened in an area away from customers of the attraction, known for its clear waters and glass-bottom boats.

A trapper caught the gator with a hook and a rope, and it was euthanized, she said. The trapper will take the meat and hide as payment.

“It was a very fat alligator for a wild alligator,” Hill said.

Butt is operations manager for Karst Environmental Services, which specializes in scientific investigations of springs, sinkholes and rivers, contracts for the St. Johns Water Management District.

via Alligator bite: 12-foot gator bites man working at Silver Springs in Ocala – OrlandoSentinel.com.

OCALA, Fla. – Emergency responders in Marion County transported a man who received traumatic injuries from an alligator bite.  It happened late Tuesday afternoon near the Silver Springs amusement park just outside of Ocala.  The attack did not happen inside the park but in the Fort King canal, an area which is off limits to the general public and set aside for park storage and research.

The victim, 55-year-old Peter Butt, is a diver with the St. Johns River Water Management District .  He was flown to Shands Hospital in Gainesville .

Witnesses said the man was diving with another individual and taking water samples when he was bitten in the neck by the alligator.

“When we found him, he had lacerations to the neck, and possibly a broken jaw,” said Miranda Iglesias, spokesperson for Marion County Fire and Rescue.

Butt was able to thrash lose from the alligator’s grip and was pulled to safety.  He was conscious when emergency crews arrived, but listed in critical condition.

“If anybody could survive something like this, it’s Pete,” Eric Hutcheson, one of Butt’s colleagues. “Pete’s a big, strong man.”

Hutcheson said the two divers were researching the pollution levels in the springs as it relates to the Floridan aquifer. Butt was tracing dye through the different channels of the spring, to see which ones were connected. The actual attack occurred at a service boat dock, where there are small springs throughout the area.

“My assumption is that this alligator was hiding under one of the old boats that doesn’t move and has been sitting there for years,” said Hutcheson, who indicated that the two divers were aware of the presence of the alligator, which was described as over 10 feet long and over 20 years in age. “Very mature, large, fat, fat, very fat alligator.”

Under the supervision of the Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, trappers captured the alligator early Tuesday evening. It was measured at just shy of 12 feet in length and weighed approximately 500 to 550 pounds. Joy Hill, spokesperson with FWC, said the alligator will be harvested for meat and hide by the nuisance alligator trapper, as is FWC policy for nuisance gators.

via Man attacked by alligator near Silver Springs amusement park.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Tiger is taking it easy, spending the day in bed lying down. His owner Vivian Rovelo says this pit bull doesn't even have the energy to go outside.

“He didn't eat yesterday,” she said.

Vivian says normally the dog is very active.

“Yes. Running, playing, you can't imagine. He's a very excited dog.”

Tiger needs his rest a day after surviving an alligator attack at Lake Hunter just south of downtown Lakeland.

The dog was going for a walk around the lake, as he often does with Vivan's husband Oscar. With soaring temperatures, Tiger needed a water break.

“He was going to the lake, because it was hot. And the alligator attacked. The alligator wanted to take him,” said Rovelo.

Tiger fought back and got out of the alligator's grip. Then Vivian's husband pulled him to safety with the leash.

“He said, oh! Tiger, Tiger! And he pulled him out and the alligator was gone,” she said.

There are plenty battle scars, scrapes and scratches all over Tiger's body. But it appears he may have hurt the gator too. One of Tiger's teeth is cut in half.

And while there are alligator warning signs around the lake, Vivian says more are needed. “Let me tell you, you have to be careful in the lakes, everybody. Everybody walks over there, with dogs, with kids.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials do advise pets to swim, exercise, or drink near places alligators call home.

Vivan hopes Tiger is up and around and back to his old self soon. In the meantime, she's giving him love, and the run of a big comfy bed.

via Pit bull recovering from gator attack.

This is an old story, but an interesting one.

MIAMI — Florida had seen just 17 confirmed fatal alligator attacks in the previous 58 years. In less a week, there appears to have been three.

The bodies of two women were found Sunday some 130 miles apart.

Annemarie Campbell, 23, of Paris, Tenn., was attacked while snorkeling in a secluded recreation area near Lake George, said state wildlife spokeswoman Kat Kelley. The lake is about 50 miles southeast of Gainesville.

“The people she was staying with came around and found her inside the gator's mouth,” said Marion County Fire-Rescue Capt. Joe Amigliore.

By poking the alligator's eyes and trying to open its jaws, the men were able to free Campbell's body, but she was dead when they found her, the Ocala Star-Banner reported.

Her stepfather, who had tried to help her, was treated on the scene for a hand injury.

“You just don't think of your daughter dying from an alligator,” Campbell's mother, Dawn Marie Yankeelov, told the newspaper.

Authorities estimate the animal was 7 to 9 feet long.

In Pinellas County, the body of another woman apparently killed by an alligator was found in a canal 20 miles north of St. Petersburg, authorities said.

Judy W. Cooper's body had been in the water for about three days, authorities said.

The 43-year-old Dunedin woman suffered animal bites that were consistent with an alligator, which “did play some part in the victim's death,” according to a preliminary autopsy. The cause of death was pending and the medical examiner's final report will not be released for at least four weeks, the sheriff's office said.

“We don't know the condition she was in when this happened,” state wildlife spokesman Gary Morse said.

It was not immediately known why Cooper was in the area where wildlife officials said alligators are frequently spotted.

Cooper's family had not heard from her for about three months and she had a history of drug abuse, her sister, Dannette Goodrich, told The Orlando Sentinel.

Gary Goodrich, Cooper's brother-in-law, told the newspaper that officials said her purse was found near the water and drugs may have played a factor.

Authorities were baiting traps in their searches for both gators Sunday.

On Wednesday, construction workers found the dismembered body of a Florida Atlantic University student in a canal near Fort Lauderdale. A medical examiner concluded that the 28-year-old woman was attacked near the canal bank and dragged into the water.

On Saturday, wildlife officers captured an 9-foot, 6-inch alligator in Sunrise that they believe fatally attacked Yovy Suarez Jimenez while she was out jogging.

Suarez's death was the 18th confirmed fatal alligator attack in Florida since 1948. Nine other previous deaths are unconfirmed, mainly because it was not clear whether the person was already dead when the alligator attacked.

What provoked the attacks in three separate Florida counties was unknown, but state wildlife officials said alligators are generally on the move looking for mates and food this time of year.

“As the weather heats up, the alligators' metabolism increases and they have to eat more,” Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Willie Puz said Sunday. “They might be moving more, but that just shouldn't mean increased alligator attacks.”

Florida residents are warned not to swim in heavily vegetated areas, feed wildlife or walk pets near the water, especially between dusk and dawn when gators are more active, Morse said.

via Florida Marks Third Deadly Alligator Attack 5/15/06 | abc7.com.

TAMPA — A 7-foot alligator was caught in the parking lot of a Gulf coast middle school.

Authorities say the alligator turned up in front of Stewart Middle School's cafeteria early Monday.

Hillsborough County school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the alligator was found before students arrived and they were kept away. No one was hurt.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer caught the alligator in a back parking lot. It has been turned over to trapper to be euthanized.

via 7-foot gator caught outside Florida middle school.

It seems that as the mating season of the Alligators is nearing, the reptiles are busy finding a mate.

On Monday a 7-feet long alligator was found in a middle School in the coastal city of Tampa. The alligator was found roaming in the premise of the school building and reports claim that the authorities informed the Tampa police department at around 7 p.m.

The students of the school who had started arriving by then were kept away from the alligators. Before the police arrived to take hold of the situation and trap the alligator, the staff members of the school were able to coax the alligator and trap him inside the boy’s bathroom. The Police arrived with trappers from the Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Service to capture the alligator.

Marc Pellicano, a sixth-grade science teacher of the school has revealed to media sources that he noticed the giant alligator just after getting out of his car in the parking area of the school on Monday morning.

He said that he immediately got to action to see to it that the alligator did not attack anybody or nobody got close enough to the alligator. The alligator then according to another teacher entered the school building and stopped in front of the cafeteria.

From there on it was coaxed by the staff members into the toilet and locked from outside until the trappers and the police arrived.

David Rocco, one of the school teachers said that the alligator was not aggressive and that the only time it got a bit aggressive was when the noose was put around it.

Gary Morse of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Service speculated that the alligator might have entered the school on Friday before the gates were shut.

via 7-Feet Long Gator Found In A Tampa Middle School.

Link

Almost 12 feet long and caught within 2-300 yards for the lake’s swimming area. Scary!

Expert trappers went alligator hunting again Tuesday morning, and this time they weren’t disappointed, catching and killing a gator more than 11 feet long at Lake Mary Jane where a swimmer was attacked.

The 11-foot, 6-inch gator was trapped in open water about 200 to 300 yards from the lake’s swimming area.

“The alligator fits the size, location and behavior profile of the alligator described by the bite victim,” said Joy Hill, spokeswoman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

On Sunday, a gator bit swimmer Doug McCard while he trained at Lake Mary Jane in east Orange County.

After securing and euthanizing the gator, wildlife officials snapped and released photos of the reptile, including one that showed off a large jaw and dull but effective teeth.

McCard suffered five puncture wounds to his right shoulder, another to his hipbone and several more on his back in what authorities described as a rare attack.

The trapper will process the gator to sell the meat and its hide, as payment for removing the reptile, Hill said.

Park personnel will continue to look for gators in the lake, she said.

Officials said residents can call the public-nuisance alligator hotline at 1-866-392-4286 if they spot a gator.

The wildlife agency will evaluate the complaint and determine if the alligator should be removed. The reptiles are trapped if they are a threat to the welfare of the public, livestock, pets or property.

Only licensed trappers are permitted to legally remove alligators. It is illegal for the general public to kill, capture or move nuisance alligators.

Link

IMAGES: Swimmer Survives Gator Attack
VIDEO: Victim | Gator Captured

Doug McCard, 35, said he was out for an early-morning swim on Sunday to train for a triathlon when the attack occurred.

He described his ordeal at Lake Mary Jane in Moss Park that sent him to the emergency room in detail.

“I knew I was in really shallow water, maybe waist deep, so I tried to spin myself and stand up and started swinging. Got a pretty good elbow to his head and he released me,” McCard said.

McCard said he’s been swimming in Lake Mary Jane since he’s been a boy, so the attack came as a shock.

Park personnel will continue to monitor the area for alligators.

Link

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.

On Sunday morning, Doug McCard, a 35-year-old sales associate for A-1 Septic in Kissimmee, Florida was attacked by an alligator just as he was beginning a swim training session for a planned Half Ironman in June. He is now looking to compete in a duathlon, where no swimming is involved.

“It was a real hard hit and I felt the teeth,” McCard told a news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center about the incident in Lake Mary Jane in Moss Park. “I started thinking to myself ‘…I can’t believe a gator is biting me.”

“I was shocked,” he said to the news conference. “[Before starting swimming] I always stand and take a look to see if the gators are there. There are gators in every lake, but I saw nothing [Sunday] so I swam like I always do.

“It hit me like a Mack truck.”

As he recalled in the news conference, McCard stood up in the shallow brackish waters and started to swing with his elbows, not unlike an NBA tough guy trying to clear out a rebound. “I got in a pretty good elbow to the head and he released me,” he said of the gator he estimated to be between 8 and 10 feet in length. “I started yelling to try to scare him and backed off until I could run out of the water.”

Witnesses said they heard McCard screaming and yelling and running out of the water bleeding from the chest.

The gator landed five puncture wounds to McCard’s right shoulder, one to his hip, and a few more to his back. Doctors kept him overnight in case of infection.

McCard, described as an “alligator aware” Florida native who had been swimming in Florida lakes “thousands of times,” said thinks he startled the alligator and it reacted by chomping him.

“If it was after me, it would have probably taken me under and rolled because that is what Gators do,” he told the Orlando Sentinel.

McCard said he hopes to begin training again soon, but will likely avoid Lake Mary Jane.

A Wikipedia entry notes that at least 20 persons have been killed by alligators in Florida in the last quarter century. That number far exceeds the number of persons killed by sharks throughout the United States.

A man hired by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission set traps trying to catch the alligator, but so far has not caught the reptile.

Prior to this attack, sharks have been the primary predators threatening triathletes training in open water. In April 2008, a great white shark killed retired veterinarian Dave Martin who was taking an early morning swim in Solana Beach, California with fellow members of the San Diego Triathlon Club.

In June of 2000, 44-year-old triathlete Chuck Anderson was taking an early morning training swim in Gulf Shores, Alabama when a bull shark grabbed his arm and dragged him down to the bottom in about eight feet of water and tore off his arm.

In a related incident in 2001 in Pensacola, Florida, triathlete Vance Flosenzier of Mentone Alabama, who finished 40 seconds ahead of Chuck Anderson in Anderson’s return to triathlon after the 2000 shark attack, wrestled off a shark attacking an 8-year-old Jessie Arbogast and saved the boy’s life.

Most Florida triathletes are aware that alligators lurk in nearly every inland lake pond and river. But many, like McCard and age group star Joe Bonness of Naples Florida, continue to fearlessly utilize Florida’s lakes, ponds and streams for open water swimming. Bonness, in fact, has achieved triathlon’s equivalent of John Wayne status among foreign rivals for his tales of choosing to swimming in alligator-inhabited waters near his Gulf Coast home in Naples.

Now, McCard and some fellow residents of Kissimmee – not far from the artificial thrills of Disney World – say they won’t surrender the pleasures of lake swimming to the occasional objections of the natural residents of Florida’s inland waters.

Link

NEW PORT RICHEY – A crowd at a seafood festival in watched in horror Sunday as an alligator handler was attacked.

FOX 13 has obtained video shot by a couple in the audience that may be disturbing to some viewers.

New Port Richey police say Jeffrey Quattrocchi was performing with a gator at the Cotee River Seafood Festival.

Video shows him poking a stick in the direction of the eight-foot alligator’s mouth and grabbing its tail.

At some point during the show, the alligator turned on him, biting his right arm.

Police say it was a severe attack, but Quattrocchi is expected to survive after undergoing surgery Sunday night.

The Florida Wildlife Commission captured the alligator and they say the animal will not be destroyed, but will likely be handed back over to Quattrocchi once he gets better.

Link

WOODSBORO–A game warden is recovering after he was bitten by an alligator in Refugio County. The gator was in the middle of a road and the game warden was trying to capture it when the gator apparently decided it didn’t want to be captured.

The alligator attack happened about a month ago. The game warden has been rehabilitating ever since then. For the first time today, he went back to the scene of the gator attack.

This is the first time Pinky Gonzales returned back to Farm to Market Road 136 near Woodsboro since the alligator attack. It was a month ago and he was trying to remove the gator from the roadway.

Gonzales jumped on top of the alligator to tape his mouth, but he was on him for 15 seconds, a little too long to close his mouth. The gator bit him and wouldn’t let his hand go.

“I am going to trying to pull my hand out of his mouth and somehow almost in two, but I got my hand back,” said Gonzales, who has been a game warden for Texas Parks and Wildlife for 23 years.

After getting his hand out, Gonzales said he and the gator rolled and then the reptile was coming right at him, going for the kill.

“I remember seeing him come at me with his mouth wide open,” Gonzales said. “He was very aggressive and very angry. I am right handed and he grabbed a hold of my left hand where i can shoot him with my right hand.”

“He looked like he got beaten up pretty bad,” said Captain Henry Balderamas, a fellow game warden, who drove him to Victoria to get medical treatment. “He was very well bloodied. He still had all of his functions and was thinking clearly.”

He suffered severe nerve damage to his hand from the alligator attack. He fracture his cheek bone and lost a couple of teeth.

He won’t return back to work for another month, but this attack won’t stop him from doing his job he has loved for nearly a quarter of a century.

“I should have stuck with what I have been doing and not take the chance I took,” Gonzales said, talking about the mistake he made with the alligator. “I’ll continue answering these calls.”

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A judge has ruled a suit against two Landings defendants should go to trial in the 2007 death of a grandmother killed there by an alligator.

Chatham County Chief State Court Judge H. Gregory Fowler’s 39-page ruling, filed Tuesday, keeps The Landings Club or Association in a suit filed Oct. 5, 2007, alleging their negligence resulted in the death of Gwyneth Williams.

Thursday, Fowler granted a defense motion for immediate review of the order in the Georgia Court of Appeals.

That will allow defense attorneys to test the rulings before trial. Trial of the case is set for July 6.

Williams, 83, was house-sitting for her son and daughter  at their home in the gated community on Skidaway Island when she was attacked and killed by an 8-foot alligator.

A hired trapper located and killed the animal several days later in a lagoon about 100 yards from where the victim’s body was found.

A medical examiner concluded Williams died of massive bleeding resulting from the alligator attack.

Russell Williams and Susan W. Norton  filed the suit against The Landings Company Inc., The Landings Association Inc. and the Landings Club Inc. The Landings Company Inc. has been removed from the case with agreement of the parties.

The suit blames the defendants’ negligence for Williams’ death.
Defense attorneys attempted to have Fowler remove parts or all of the case based on the legal issues in order to block a possible trial.
But Fowler’s order found “genuine issues of material facts” remained, including “whether The Landings Club failed to maintain its lagoon in a safe manner and whether (it) failed to manage the alligator population in a safe manner.”

He found “circumstantial evidence” had been presented to show the alligator involved had been on Landings property for “more than a few days,”  while the defense had failed to present any evidence of an inspection routine prior to the attack.

Fowler also ruled such facts remained in the case on whether the Landings Association “negligently maintained a habitat for alligators.”

He also found issues of fact on “whether an alligator attack was foreseeable to the Landings Association.”

Plaintiff attorney Bart Turner said Friday he was pleased with Fowler’s findings.

“I do think the judge objectively did look at the issues,” Turner said. “We look forward to proving our case at trial.”

Attorney John Foster, who represents the Landings Club, said Friday that Fowler’s certificate of immediate appeal illustrates “there are significant questions as to whether the case against the Landings Club should go to trial.”

If it does, he said, attorneys are confident nothing the club did “caused Ms. Williams’ death, and nothing it could have done would have prevented it.”

Link

Moncks Corner, SC – According to authorities, a woman that was walking a trail in Moncks Corner was bitten by an alligator Monday afternoon.

Officials say the attack happened at Cypress Gardens when the woman was walking a trail with her husband. Investigators say a 5 to 6-foot alligator bit the woman’s hand and leg.

Department of Natural Resources officials are searching for the gator but so far there haven’t been any sightings. Guests at Cypress Gardens are warned about the possibility of seeing animals and are told to keep their distance, but park officials say this time of year it is not unusual to see a dangeous gator.

Director of Cypress Gardens Dwight Williams says,”One of the attractions of Cypress Gardens is the possibility of seeing wild alligators. We don’t know how many are in the swamp. On a day like today, it is typical to see alligators sunning themselves beside the swamp as spring comes.”

Berkeley County took over control of Cypress Gardens in 1996 and officials say there have not been any alligator attacks here since that time. The victim has been taken to MUSC.

Authorities say the woman was able to walk out of the park on her own. Officials don’t believe her injuries to be life threatening.

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SAO PAULO – A 13-foot (4-meter) alligator has reportedly attacked and killed a girl who was swimming in a Brazilian jungle river.

Firefighters tell local media that 11-year-old Gigliane do Nascimento Bira was playing with friends in shallow water in the northern state of Rondonia, in the Amazon region.

The Agencia Estado news service says the reptile was found about 300 feet (100 meters) from the site of Sunday afternoon’s attack. Authorities shot it dead so her body could be recovered.

Calls to Rondonia authorities were not immediately answered Monday.

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This is an old article, but a very interesting one that explains how a growing human population leads to more wildlife attacks.

Annmarie Campbell lived in Tennessee, but she grew up in central Florida, and she had vacationed before in the rustic two-bedroom cabin on a creek in Florida’s Ocala National Forest. Two weeks ago, she was there again with a few members of her extended family. That Sunday the aspiring artist, 23, slipped into the water to snorkel her way back to the cabin. A few minutes later, her former stepfather’s wife Jackie Barrett left the sandbar where they had been sunning themselves and followed Campbell. The young woman was nowhere to be found. Barrett grabbed a kayak and paddled downstream in search of her. No luck. So Barrett headed back toward the cabin–to find her husband Mark and a family friend frantically gouging at the eyes of an 11 1/2-ft. alligator and prying at its jaws, firmly clamped on Campbell’s upper body. By the time the creature finally let go, it was too late. Campbell was dead, with massive head trauma and lungs filled with water.

The incident would have been shocking by itself. But it was not the only one. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission records an average of about seven alligator attacks every year, yet they are rarely fatal: since 1948, only 17 humans had been confirmed killed by the huge reptiles. But in the five days leading up to Campbell’s death, two other women had been partly eaten by alligators. Three deadly assaults in the space of a week seemed like too much of a coincidence. Floridians, who tend to be casual about their state reptile, were suddenly hypervigilant to a danger that seemed to be lurking in every body of freshwater bigger than a bathtub. Calls to hotlines skyrocketed, and all over the state people were asking themselves what could possibly be going on.

The circumstances of each death offered no obvious clues. They happened in different parts of the state: Yovy Suarez Jimenez, 28, was killed in Sunrise, just north of Miami, and Judy Cooper, 43, was found 20 miles north of St. Petersburg. Although nobody witnessed either attack, authorities believe that Jimenez was sitting at the edge of a canal, dangling her feet in the water, when she was seized by an alligator and dragged in. And there is no reason to believe that Cooper was swimming.

In short, the unusual spate of fatal attacks may have been a ghastly coincidence–but that doesn’t mean they were entirely random. According to wildlife experts, several factors may have recently upped the odds of alligator aggression. For one thing, this is the time of year when the reptiles emerge from cold-weather quiescence and enter the mating season. That makes them more territorial and more aggressive than normal. Beyond that, the state has been experiencing an extended drought over the past several years, shrinking the animals’ natural habitat and forcing them to forage in areas where humans have created ponds, canals and swimming pools.

There are also more alligators around today than ever because of the reptile’s 20-year stint on the federal endangered-species list. Back in 1967, when it was formally listed, trapping for meat and hides had reduced the alligator population in Florida to no more than 300,000. Now there are 1 million to 2 million. At the same time, the state’s human population has exploded. As a result, development is pushing into wetlands that were once pure, alligator-friendly wilderness, and agriculture is draining huge swaths of alligator habitat. Everglades National Park is just one-seventh the size of the historic Everglades swampland, forcing the animals to share territory that humans consider their own.

It’s a familiar story. In the American West, mountain lions are getting squeezed, and lethal attacks by the big cats have become more frequent. In the Northeast, it is black bears, foraging in suburban backyards. In Florida, it’s alligators. And unlike cougars and bears, which are rarely spotted, alligators are everywhere and are almost always docile. Along a path just inside Everglades park’s Shark Valley entrance, for example, alligators loll along the bank of the adjacent canal, as uninterested in the people as they are in the bugs that swirl overhead. Yet park employees have seen tourists run over alligators with bikes and wheelchairs, throw rocks at them and stab them with sticks. People even put kids on the backs of the creatures for a gator photo op. “The alligator isn’t the problem. It’s humans,” says park naturalist Maria Thomson. “We’re pushing them to the limit.”

And every so often, they push back. Whenever an alligator kills a human, the state sends out trappers to catch and kill it. The animals responsible for the three recent attacks have all been trapped. Parts of Jimenez were found in the belly of a 9 1/2-ft. alligator, Cooper’s arm and hand were recovered from an 8 1/2-footer, and Campbell’s killer was identified by scratches around its eye. But it’s not as if those particular alligators were more dangerous than most, and destroying them won’t prevent future attacks. Officials say the best ways to avoid becoming dinner for an alligator are not to feed the animals, which can lead them to lose their natural wariness; to stay away from the water’s edge at dusk and dawn, when the creatures tend to hunt; and to be generally wary in and around the water. “A little gator common sense,” says state-certified trapper Todd Hardwick, “takes you a long way.”

Even so, people are still going to run afoul of alligators. And while three deaths in a week establish a benchmark of horror that probably won’t be repeated soon, encounters between alligators and people are bound to increase. “We’re putting our lives on the line,” says Hardwick, “so you can have a safe backyard.”

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When Sgt. Adam Rush was charged by an alligator while out fishing on Blue Creek on March 27, he knew it wasn’t his best day.

In fact, it was the worst day that any fisherman had in all of 2009.

Rush, a Camp Lejeune Marine, was named Outdoor Life Magazine’s “Unluckiest Angler of the Year” according to a “Best and Worst of 2009” list published on the magazine’s Web site.

The post giving Rush the dubious award referenced how Rush was forced to call 911 when a nine-foot alligator eyeing Rush’s fresh catch of largemouth bass left the river bank and made a beeline for his 10-foot boat.

Rush defended himself by hitting the creature in the head with an oar, but then found himself stranded with a dead engine and a broken oar. Game wardens arrived on the scene, brought him to safety and then issued him tickets for having undersized fish and no boat registration.

Rush paid $121 in court costs and a $50 fine for the violation, Rush said last week.

“I was kind of in the wrong about keeping a fish that was too small, but that was the furthest thing from my mind,” Rush remembered. “I was pretty much caught red-handed by the game warden, I guess you could say, with having a fish that was half an inch too small.”

Among the 13 other items on Outdoor Life’s “Best and Worst” list include “The Barney Fife Award,” “Worst Gun Thief” and “Best Dog Owner of 2009.”

The magazine didn’t contact him to let him know about the recognition, Rush said — it didn’t need to.

“My dad reads a lot of outdoor stuff. He called me about two days later and said, ‘Hey, did you get attacked by an alligator?’” he said.

Rush said the Marines he works with on base call him “Crocodile Dundee,” and the base game warden asked him if the story was true.

Rush’s run-in with the law hasn’t inspired him to change his system for sizing up the fish he catches.

“I’ll be honest with you: I use the same system I did before. If it fits on the top of my (14-inch) tacklebox, then I’m good to go,” he said.

The incident also hasn’t made him less eager to participate in outdoor activities. Rush said that three days after the alligator attack, he was back on the water — just a little more careful.

“This time I went with an extra battery on the boat,” he said.

Staff of Outdoor Life did not return requests for comment.