Man has to amputate his arm after alligator attack in Seminole County

A man had to have his arm amputated after a brutal alligator attack in Seminole County.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said the man was swimming in Lake Monroe just before 2 a.m. Sunday when an alligator attacked him. The attack left his arm amputated from the elbow down.

The agency says the man was homeless.

The FWC is still investigating how the attack occurred and why the man was in the lake in the middle of the night.

Brandon Fisher, an alligator expert at Gatorland, says the attack occurred during the alligators’ peak feeding time between dusk and dawn.

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“They’re, you know, hunting for their prey. They’re swimming around in the water, splashing around, making a lot of noise and possibly attracting alligators,” Fisher said.

He says alligators are particularly active this time of year because it is their mating season.

In addition, alligators, just like humans, try to escape the heat.

“When it’s nice and warm and it’s rained in the last week or so, they go out and enjoy the rain cooling them down a little bit,” Fisher said.

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He advises avoiding swimming in the dark and in areas not designated for swimming.

It is estimated that there are over 1.5 million alligators living in Florida. Fisher said that this means that it is safe to assume that there is an alligator living in every freshwater body in the state.

If you do encounter an alligator, Fisher says you should stand upright in the water if possible to make yourself appear larger than you may be – and then run away.

If you are grabbed by an alligator, fight back with all your strength before it can begin what is known as the death roll.

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“They don’t let go if they think it’s food. And they do what they can to get what they can get. They don’t chew their food. They swallow it whole,” Fisher said. “They shake themselves back and forth and that tears, or they do this death roll or they spin in circles.”

Fisher recommends attacking the alligator in its most sensitive areas, including the end of its tail and its head, especially the tip of its snout.

“The head… is just bones. I’d rather take a broken hand than maybe, you know, something worse,” Fisher said.

It seems like a no-brainer, but Fisher advises: Don’t feed the alligators! Feeding them causes them to associate food and people, and Fisher says this encourages the alligators to attack, as happened in Seminole County.

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