Leesburg man loses hand while fishing
 

LEESBURG, Fla. - One man is in the hospital following a gator attack that happened Sunday afternoon. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimates the gator's length to be approximately 9 feet.

Reports say the man was fishing in a pond inside the Pennbrooke Fairways neighborhood in Leesburg when the gator attacked him, biting off his hand. Ron Priest, who spoke exclusively to FOX 35’s Kelsie Cairns, saw the whole thing play out in his backyard. Priest says the fisherman was reeling in a fish when the animal snapped open its jaws and chomped down on the man’s hand.

Alligators will often follow a hooked fish as it is reeled in. It's not like alligators magically appear out of nowhere. This guy wasn't paying attention or he would have seen it coming.

Location was just east of Morse Rd. Next to the villages.
Alligator was located and shot dead. Man's hand was retrieved and taken to hospital where it was determined it could not be surgically reattached.
He is lucky to be alive, but permanently injured.
The witness accounts (summary) was the alligator appeared right before it attacked the man. There was no way to prevent the attack, other than not being there.
I bet he wishes that alligator had been removed from residential area for the overall safety of all humans.

i feel for this guy, really, but who in their right mind fishes on the edge of a pond in Fl>? i would expect exactly that. poor gator was in his home, doing what gators do:shrug:

No other state educates it’s population on the dangers of gators like this one. Not like the victim was pushing a shopping cart at Publix.....you’re in the lions den when you venture off the pavement down here. That said, I still feel for the victim as this truly is a life altering event.

I'm just speculating here, but since it got his hand and not a foot, it makes me wonder if the fisherman had reached down to "lip" the fish out of the water, at water's edge at exactly the wrong moment.I can't fathom how else it would get his hand rather than a more convenient body part.

I often see fishermen fishing along the edge of the pond by the Poinciana mailboxes. I feel bad for the guy who lost his hand, but unless he lives in a cave he was aware of some risk fishing along the edge of a pond in Florida.

I feel bad for the fisherman but safety starts at home, no one should be fishing in a pond known to have alligators, there have been warnings about this for years but some people think they know better. The way to prevent the attack is to not fish in the ponds and to stay away from them.

My take; don’t fish around here! Alligators are wild powerful animals, not to be tempted. Go to the ocean and rent a boat, amazing fish to be caught there.

May this guy’s tragedy be a warning to all of us. (People trying to retrieve golf balls from water etc.)

Expect a gator to be in any body of water.

[QUOTE=I often see fishermen fishing along the edge of the pond by the Poinciana mailboxes. I feel bad for the guy who lost his hand, but unless he lives in a cave he was aware of some risk fishing along the edge of a pond in Florida.[/QUOTE]

I wonder about those fishing there too; although I've only seen an alligator there once (last spring and only about three feet).

Perhaps it's time to value human life more than an alligator ?
When will people get upset over a problem that can mitigated? Will it take a child to get killed?

Arctic Ocean???😂😂😂

Actually, a toddler was killed by a gator a few years ago at Disney.

What do you mean by "mitigated"?

There are maybe a million alligators throughout Florida, up to Georgia and the Carolinas, around the Gulf coast, and in Texas. You remove one, another moves in. Are you proposing extinction? No way that would be allowed.

This is their territory. It is up to us humans to be responsible for ourselves. Don't expect someone else to take care of you.

Thank You :beer3:

You need to watch ‘Swamp People’ series. Killing gators is a rite of passage in places like FL and LA. The problem, there are millions. In the interim, just respect ‘their’ territories

There is a pond near our post office. I have seen gators and people fishing. The Villages should ban fishing!

They have banned fishing on golf courses and on certain ponds that are visible from "water view" homes.

The Villages should allow and encourage fishing.

Chubbs Peterson Society

Nobody deserves to be attacked by an alligator, for any reason, no matter how infrequent that happens.
We have the ability to Mitigate = reduce the risk.

Allow trappers to capture alligators in ponds adjacent to homes without any regulatory hoops to jump through. No fee for a permit. Allowed during daylight, and any time at the request of PD.
Take one or take all. The more, the better.
It's safer for humans. Safer for children. Safer for visitors and pets.

If another one moves in, get rid of that one too. Eventually there will be a lot fewer near residents.
There are millions of them, and removing a few thousand living near people will not have any impact on them.

If only that one had been removed... a man would not be in the hospital. He and his family would not have to deal with the life changing amputation, the pain and suffering, and a huge financial problem that alligator caused.

Remember, and this is time tested for accuracy.....you cannot legislate what is common sense!

Better to remove people who are worried about alligators. If you don't like snow, don't move to New Hampshire. Bothered by earthquakes? Stay out of California. Terrified by the movie Twister? No Kansas for you. Feel Florida is unsafe with all the alligators? There are a lot of states who will be glad to have you.

Gators will be gators.

Sorry for what happened to this guy, but he should have known the risks. He's probably done it a hundred times w/o a problem. But this one time...gator, fish (assumedly) and hand all intersected. But you can't blame the critter for being what it is. We can coexist with them just fine if we think a little bit.

When will people get upset over a problem that can mitigated? Will it take a child to get killed?

Common sense gun laws would be a good start. Any idea how many children have been killed because of the lack of ?

In the 1970s, Florida protected alligators, as an endangered species. I submit, they are no longer endangered in Florida, on the contrary, they have flourished & are in need of being trimmed back from populated areas, like The Villages. Maker is correct. They should be removed from The Villages ponds, they can stay in the swamps, but the retention ponds that folks fish in should be open to alligator hunters.

Over 6,000 pedestrians are killed each year. Removing vehicles from roadways would prevent those 6,000 deaths of which some were children.

An average of 28 people are killed by lightning each year. Enforcing a 100% curfew during a lightning storm could prevent those 28 deaths of which some were children

If we are going to demand 100% safety we are going to be forced to make some difficult choices. On the other hand, if we are willing to make tradeoffs, work to improve safety, and demand some level of personal responsibility then we can have our cake and usually get to eat some of it too.

And then there's the water moccasins, ponds are where both live and anyone who. allows a child to be near a body of water in Florida should be shipped north.

Or just put up no fishing signs, problem solved.

Remember several years ago when the tragedy occurred at The Floridian Disney. Tragic loss of a child. That said, Disney posted conspicuously throughout that area before....and fenced off area since. They have already employed wildlife experts, daily, who guide and relocate gators to other parts of their property. It’s not a cure all. It’s not cheap either. In the case of TV, how many more fees and administrative costs to you want to add on top of? Again, common sense...and as it relates to parents/grandparents of small children....cannot be legislated!

If you remove a few thousand gators living near people, another few thousand will move into the area. Even if you put a fence around every pond, the gators can climb fences.

You can no more control the location of gators than you can control the location of geckos.

Also - gators play a big role in the balance of nature. They are a top predator, controlling the population of fish, turtles, ducks, and more.

Do you also want to get rid of the panthers, bears, and coyotes?

What a messed up state we would have.

I’m talking common sense laws not a total ban. Besides, guns meant to kill, cars are meant to be driven. And yes, accidents do happen, the deaths are not on purpose.

This sounds like the start of a long discussion that deserves its own thread.

Who ? In my opinion (as a Florida native who retired in Florida), I think MANY people in their right mind have no idea, or a very vague idea they may have picked up from movies (?) about exactly what danger an alligator poses to people and animals. If folks come from a midwest state, or plains, northern, etc. where there are no alligators, they have no idea, just as I would have no idea of the dangers posed by a moose, or buffalo (since the only ones I've ever been around were the ones raised by the Villages at one time...and, apparently deemed more dangerous than the alligators since many people sat their grandchildren ON the rails of the herd's pastures... or, perhaps the interest in and price of buffalo meat dropped. But either way, they disappeared. I believe the Florida wildlife department will still remove alligators if reported in place like the Villages, but perhaps no longer since I certainly see my share of them when playing golf. I don't like to be a "chicken little the sky is falling", but, I would hope people would let new comers know it is truly not a good idea to go looking for a ball you think landed very close to the edge of a large pond; DEFINITELY not along the right edge of #8 on Heron !

Perhaps, but that would also open up quite a Pandora's Box. Among the things considered by The Villages administration might be, and not saying the things on this list are valid, but

1. Reluctant to advertise any hobby or leisure activity not encouraged, after all, many do not golf ?

2. Don't want to showcase any "dangers", even though they might exist ?

3. Time and expense incurred in trying to stop retired fishing enthusiasts from fishing near their own homes ?

4. IF it is banned, should not walking dogs on trails that include walking near water also be banned since that is a MAJOR attraction for gators ?

Just some random thoughts as to why The Villages might not do that.

& put up signs saying 'no walking near the pond' too!

On second thought, just don't go outside at all!!! Problem solved!

I saw that story on the CBS National news a few evenings ago.

He's been trying to contact you about your cars' warranty. :1rotfl:

Then, as a Florida native, you know it was highly unlikely this gator would have attacked this man if he didn't have a fish in his hand. Heck, I can make the case he didn't attack the man at all, he was grabbing the fish for a snack and the man's arm got in the way. Only the very largest gators will possibly attack a full grown man unless he is provoked, feeding him, or during mating/nesting season.

When you ban tourists, visiting family, and then suggest they go somewhere else, then come talk to me about moving away.

Otherwise, moving is not a solution.

Go solve those other problems. But that is off topic here. Don't hijack another thread.

If you move then your visiting family will be visiting elsewhere and you can feel they are safe.


As for tourists, those that visit me like to see the alligators. I can’t speak for any others and suggest they may not appreciate you speaking for them either.