[Sage327]

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.

[dhdallas]

Originally Posted by Sage327

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.

[Maker]

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.

[PugMom]

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

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by PugMom

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

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.

[Laker14]

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.

[vintageogauge]

Originally Posted by Maker

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 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.

[Velvet]

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.)

[MrFlorida]

Expect a gator to be in any body of water.

[Hape2Bhr]

[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).

[Maker]

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?

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Expect a gator to be in any body of water.

Arctic Ocean???😂😂😂

[LuvtheVillages]

Originally Posted by Maker

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?

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.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by LuvtheVillages

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

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by Maker

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?

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