Alligator Attack
 

Our friend was very lucky!

Four of us were golfing last evening at Turtle Mound. Our friend (Gary) was about 4'-5' from the water's edge retrieving his ball when a very large alligator literally sprung out of the water and latched onto his lower leg. The friend fell and for some unknown reason the alligator let go. Gary jumped to his feet and got away. He escaped with just a slight leg puncture probably due to having jeans on.

I witnessed this from the green and don't think I'll ever forget the size of the alligator with his mouth wide open - VERY scary! My husband had two clubs and was on his way to help when Gary "escaped"!

The incident was reported this morning and Village authorities immediately began taking steps to locate and remove the gator.

SO . . . please let this be a warning to NOT go anywhere near the water. Alligators ARE there and alligators ARE dangerous.

So sorry about this horrifying experience you had.

Thank you for posting and reminding us that we have to be careful near ponds.

I had the same experience last Saturday, about 4-5' away from the water and one was hovering. My friend said, for me to just hit my shot, she had a club ready, NOT!!!!!!!!!

I will most likely get flack for posting this.

The people get into the alligator's habitat and then it is the alligator that gets killed by the people. We all know that where there is water in Florida, there is very likely an alligator. Getting to the edge of a water hazard is an invite to the alligator to attack. The alligator at Turtle Mound will not be "relocated" to a marsh away from people to live out his estimated 35 years of life. He will be dragged out of the pond after being hooked by a large treble hook and will then be shot to death. The alligator killer will get to sell the alligator skin for a good price and the meat will be sold to tourist restaurants.

It is great that your friend escaped unharmed. I am sure he did get medical care for the puncture wound as an alligator does have all sorts of bacteria in his mouth and it can cause a serious infection.

Very scary indeed, but the important question is, how did you shoot?

Yes. Your friend was very lucky. Happy to hear he is ok. Any of these lakes or ponds here in the villages may contain an alligator. As a fellow golfer may I suggest the purchase of an extendable ball retriever to reach near areas marked as no entry or close. Going into bushes may be just as bad due to snakes or spiders.

You don't need to be near water to encounter a gator here. We saw one go into our neighbor's garage the other day. Don't know what could have happened had he gone into his garage to get in his car without knowing it was there. One of my very brave other neighbor's grabbed it while I taped his mouth shut. We took it down to the preserve down the street, untaped it, and let it go.

I'm so happy that you let it go and didn't kill it. :BigApplause:

One of hazards other than sand traps on a Florida course. Glad all turned out well.

How do people get away with kayaking down here?

I've never been able to understand why people want to retrieve golf balls from water, knowing there that it's possible there are gators in the pond. It's just not worth it. I saw a gator come out of the water one day and he was moving like lightening. Please, don't take chances. Stay away from water.

grandkids!
 

i have always worried on hot day about the bushes on the boardwalk ,, and folks that let there grandkids run on the boardwalk like a bunch of wild indians and a gator latches onto them while hiding in the busches

We are not the prey of these critters. That's why the golfer was spit out as the gator realized the mistake. With a little caution, we could live with the Florida native gators.

The gator bite would not have bothered me.
I would have drop dead from a heart attact when it jumped at me.
:eek::eek::eek:

Very scary indeed. One second you are grumbling about a lost ball and the next you are inside of a gators jaws...:22yikes:

Glad he is OK, will heed the warning. As I read your post I did keep thinking a line was coming ... "hit the ball drag Gary", but that must be another story....

Someone gets seriously hurt or killed, alligators will be harvested on a more aggressive scale.

7/11/2014 The Villages Daily Sun C3
 

C3 in today's Villages Daily Sun has a small story about this.

Here's a good source of information about alligators and crocodiles in Florida. http://www.myfwc.com/conservation/yo...ldlife/gators/

I agree Cisco. Prior to the heart attack, I would have first soiled myself!! :sing:

I think this happens because most people assume that if there is an alligator in the water close to where their golf ball is they will be able to see it.
I'm no expert but would assume that part of the reason these animals are so successful in their habitat is that they have developed the ability to remain absolutely still for long periods of time and they are able to camouflage themselves in water quite well.
Don't assume there are no gators just because you don't see one.

Barefoot: I agree but for a different reason. Once a ball hits water it becomes addicted to it and its certain that the first chance it gets its going back for a fix

After reading the replies to my original post I realize I used the wrong terminology in explaining what Gary was doing.

He was not RETRIEVING a ball from the water but ADDRESSING the ball on the grass 4'-5' from the water's edge. After what happened I won't even go that close to the water to hit my ball . . . ever!!

So glad to hear your friend is safe. It would have scared the hell out of me and I've seen a lot of very bad things. As for the gator and I know I'll probably get some grief, this is not a nature preserve, it's a residential community. Things that are dangerous to people or pets don't belong here in my opinion. If the gator grabs a pet dog do we just say "OH Well" ? I didn't move to Florida to be ambushed by animals of prey.

No room for alligators here.
 

Why should you get flack for posting your opinion? You will, however, get an opposing view.

The lakes, ponds, and pools within The Villages are not the alligator's habitat. The area once supported them, along with deer, bear, dove, quail and other animals that are seldom or never seen around here any more.

However, the incursion of humans, and the erection of infrastructure for human habitation has pushed these animals to other locations. There is still the occasional report of the sighting of some of these animals, but they are passing through. The Villages is no longer their habitat.

Alligators, being very primitive, and not nearly as smart as deer, have not figured out that this area now belongs to humans, so they keep pushing to take over the water areas, and will continue to do so as long as they find food here.

Some posters have spoken of effectively surrendering dominion over the lakes and ponds to the alligator. They advocate staying away from the water's edge because the water belongs to the alligator.

I disagree. I advocate aggressive and ongoing trapping and disposition of alligators found in the waterways of The Villages. Alligators are not an endangered species. It is foolhardy to tolerate having a dangerous wild animal living unfettered in close proximity to humans and their pets.

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I do not know which hole at Turtle Mound your friend was on but if the ball was 4-5 feet from the edge of the water - it probably was out of bounds and he should not have gone after it, much less hit it from there.

His carelessness cost an alligator his life.

There is a good reason for the red stakes by the hazards.

I have no idea what you are talking about? You cannot think of any hole where there is a water hazard in Turtle Mound?

No, I have never played at Turtle Mound. I live north of 466 and usually do not play south of Tarpon Boil.

Did I miss a post? Who said the gator was killed?

How big was this gator? Is it gone? I would think that The Villages would have some record of the gators extraction from the environment. Have you ever seen a 3 foot, 4 foot, 5 foot gator. Mostly harmless and normally they withdraw from contact. Certainly not leaping from ponds toward people. Must have been much larger and should therefore be removed. Perhaps to be viewed or eaten at Gator Joes in Ocklawaha, Fl.

Human residence not animal habitat.
 

You have correctly and succinctly made the point. This is a residential community, and having predator animals which are dangerous to humans or pets in the area is inappropriate.

One option available by the rules of golf when the ball is in a hazard is to play it as it lies, so the golfer had every right to hit the ball from within the red stakes. Respect the game.

I would like a nice pair of alligator boots.

Unless the red stakes have a green top. That indicates a preserve area where you may not enter under any circumstances.

Alligators in Florida Lakes – Alligator Attacks and Nuisance Gator Removal

I certainly shudder at the idea of an alligator eating any loved one of mine here in the Villages but these gators are part of the natural habitat of Florida. I know much of the Villages used to be pastures and such with little water around but we have created an environment here in the Villages which is a lot more attractive to gators than it was before the developments of man made lakes with fish dumped in them.

Every human habitat in the world was once exclusive animal habitat. The distinction with The Villages is that it metamorphosed recently.

Since most if not all the bodies of water in The Villages are man-made, it is actually the gator who intruded. I assume that every gator in The Villages either migrated from another body of water nearby or one of their ancestors did so.

At any rate, to me, the health and safety of humans takes precedence of that of any animal, especially dangerous ones. I reserve the right to change my mind if the human in the equation is a real jackass.

I admit bias, as I am a hunter, and have been fortunate enough to win two permits in the Mississippi gator lottery in the last ten years.

The activity of the golfer at the time of the attack has been corrected to addressing the ball. The commentary thereafter included several references to the rules of the game.

there are a number of holes in proximity of a large pond on Turtle Mound. On the par 3 5th hole I hit a drive it landed to the right of the green behind the red stakes (meaning i could hit it but could not ground the club) and some 10 feet from the water. In my concern for being too close to the water, which may have contained an alligator I hit my ball hurriedly shanking to the edge of the water. You guessed it to the right of the ball was a alligator.

Alligators, like squirrels and snakes are territorial and this is their territory like it or not

People who live in Florida must adjust to that fact and understand that these creatures are ingenious at staying hidden.

Most alligators are not dangerous except to ducks, loose pets, and other animals. They tend to leave people alone unless they become friendly with humans.

I remember walking in John Chestnut Park Pinellas County, Florida, Park & Conservation Resources - John Chesnut Sr. Park bordering Lake Tarpon in Palm Harbor. There are probably 10,000 alligators in Lake Tarpon. http://www.lakelubbers.com/lake-tarpon-1034/

I had my blind Cocker Spaniel Amber on a walk and we were approaching a bend in the shoreline of a pond in John Chestnut Park.

When we got close to the bend, I saw two men on top of a picnic table. I was very curious why they were up there.

So, I approached cautiously from way behind them because I had noticed the gator in the water in front of the picnic table. He was eyeing the men on top of the picnic table.

The men told me that the gator had come out of the water when they approached the picnic table because some of the many idiotic tourists fed it from the picnic table.

They probably had to kill that gator just because some jackass tourist gave it some meat while having a picnic.

The men were still on top of the picnic table when I drove out but it looked like a park employee had noticed and was heading towards them.


At least, this guy (11 ft. 700 lb. American Crocodile) had not found his way to Lake Tarpon yet. http://youtu.be/lcVPXqdtt_4

The Season isn't over.
 

It isn't too late to apply for a Phase III Florida alligator hunting license for this year. Licenses are issued by random drawing.

Statewide Alligator Hunt Permit

I think that it should be mentioned that the golfer has excellent concentration skills in keeping his head down and eyes on the ball.