A vicious alligator attack in Seminole County left a man with an amputated arm.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says the man was swimming in Lake Monroe just before 2 a.m. Sunday when an alligator attacked him. The attack left him with an arm amputated from the elbow down.
The agency says the man was homeless.
The FWC is still investigating how the attack happened and why the man was at the lake in the middle of the night.
Brandon Fisher, an alligator expert at Gatorland, says the attack happened during the alligators’ prime feeding time, between dusk and dawn.
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“They’re hunting, you know, looking for their prey. So swimming in the water, diving, makes a lot of noise and possibly attracts alligators,” Fisher said.
He says alligators are especially active this time of year because it’s breeding season.
Additionally, alligators, like humans, are trying to escape the heat.
“If it’s nice and warm, and we’ve had rain in the last week, you know, or so, they go out and take advantage of the rain to cool down a little bit,” Fisher said.
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He says to avoid swimming when it’s dark and in undesignated areas.
It is estimated that more than 1.5 million alligators live in Florida. With that, Fisher says every body of freshwater in the state has an alligator living in it.
In case you encounter an alligator, Fisher says to stand in the water if you can, to make it appear bigger than you really are — and run.
If an alligator latches onto you, fight with all your might before it can begin what is known as its killing throw.
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“They won’t give up if they think it’s food. And they will do what they can to get what they can. They don’t chew their food. They swallow it whole,” Fisher said. “They’ll swing back and forth and it rips, or they’ll do that death roll, or they spin.”
Fisher says to focus on alligator fighting in the most sensitive areas. This includes the tip of the tail and the head, especially the tip of the snout.
“The head… is entirely made of bone. I’d rather have a broken hand than maybe, you know, something more serious,” Fisher said.
It may seem obvious – but Fisher says – don’t feed the alligators! Feeding them associates the food with humans and the fisherman says it encourages an alligator to attack like what happened in Seminole County.
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