Posted on 03/07/2023 6:17:46 AM PST by Red Badger
A Florida man was violently attacked by a 9-foot alligator Saturday at his home in Daytona Beach.
Scott Hollingsworth told local media that he and his wife were watching television on Saturday night when he heard something banging against the door.
“I jumped up and headed over and opened the door, stepped out while trying to reach the lights and barely got out the door and got my leg clamped on and [it] started shaking really violently,” he said. “It happened so quickly, wasn’t a whole lot [of time]. It was just total surprise and shock. We see alligators behind our house, it’s a regular thing, but they always keep their distance from us.”
Hollingsworth thought the alligator was perhaps only 6 or 7 feet long and was surprised to learn that it was closer in size to a fully grown adult at 9 feet long.
“I really didn’t get a good look at it,” he added. “When I saw what it was, I stepped back in the house and closed the door. Looked down and I had a large gash in the side of my leg. I was trying to put pressure on it.”
Hollingsworth said that he had to have surgery on his leg and that he is thankful that the alligator did not grab his knee. He said he won’t get to enjoy riding his bicycle for quite a while.
The attack comes just a couple of weeks after a 10-foot alligator exploded out of a pond and killed 85-year-old Gloria Serge, who was walking her dog at a community retention pond at Spanish Lakes Fairways, a little over a hundred miles away from Daytona Beach.
The alligator, which local media said weighed up to 700 pounds, surged out of the water and tried to grab her dog. Serge tried to fight off the alligator, but it grabbed her foot and dragged her into the water.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that while alligators are still on the federal endangered species list, they can still easily be found all over the state.
“Alligators occur in all 67 counties in Florida and can be found in practically all fresh and brackish water bodies and occasionally in salt water,” the state agency said. “Although exact population figures are not known, Florida has a healthy and stable population of about 1.3 million alligators of every size. This population estimate is based on an estimated 6.7 million acres of suitable habitat.”
It is illegal to feed alligators because feeding them teaches them to associate food with humans and thus causes them to lose their fear of people. Despite their numbers in the state, attacks on people remain relatively rare as they prefer to only attack prey that they can easily overpower.
I love the flying cockroaches (palmetto bugs). Termites, too!
And let’s not forget.....the state of Florida is the lightning strike capital of the US.
There is literally a Gator in even the smallest of ponds in Florida. You heard that New Yorkers and Californians? As Joetato says, that’s no joke pal! Let’s do some pushups!
I moved down here in 2021. Not planning to leave. Not bringing my old state with me. However, I still prefer to warn liberals of what awaits if they move down here.
BOOM!
Poisoning Gators? That’s kinda sick.
You’ve got me beat by just a few years!
FTA: It is illegal to feed alligators because feeding them teaches them to associate food with humans and thus causes them to lose their fear of people.
That guy will be charged with the crime of feeding alligators....
If we can just teach the gators to go after illegal immigrants, invasive pythons, Yankees, and Democrats while they leave the rest of us alone, we can make Florida great again.
Don't forget about the brain-eating amoeba lurking in the tap water. It's the small invisible critters that are the deadliest.
There are 3 ponds in my sub-division in Florida. Each pond has gators and water snakes. The biggest pond has walking trail around it. The gators come out of water and soak up the sun on banks of pond. Usually they run away into the water when a human approaches.
Gators right outside the door......hurricanes, tropical depressions, sinkholes, water moccasins, shark infested waters.....you name it florida’s got it.
Very dangerous.......don’t say you weren’t warned."
A few things I'll add: Rattle snakes in the palmettos, palmetto bugs - like big cockroaches except they can fly and prefer the indoors, Florida wood spiders - very big - like the size of your hand and very fast, you can hear them run across your wall and then they flatten out at the ceiling/wall juncture so you have to flip them out of the crack to get'm running so you can whop them with an industrial strength fly swatter.
Oh and if she's got an egg sack you don't want to stop until you get her.
I recommend the "Super Swat" - no connection with the company but we've got them around the house. Not an ad, just a recommendation.
Spring is fun too because that's when the gator males will go ANYWHERE looking for a mate. Often found underneath the car in your driveway so step lively.
Other than that, aside from the waves of northerners moving south, every year we get "snowbirds" coming down to their 2nd home to avoid northern winters.
Traffic doubles with people on the roads with drivers who don't know where they're going and that you can turn right on a red light (in most cases).
Also its hot and humid 8 months of the year and some businesses still want you in a coat and tie.
Still we've got a good governor, no income taxes and big chunk of state/county/city budget income is from tourist taxes.
Most cities have ~ 7% sales taxes except 8%+ in the blue districts.
Still its close to a 50/50 R/D voters so conservatives are welcome especially down in South Florida, Palm Beach Miami, etc. Conservatives are starting to win down there.
At the beach, at least on the Gulf Coast, you'll want to master the stingray shuffle. You just don't pick your feet up and then down like normal walking so as you slide your feet forward right on the sand the sting rays will get out of your way.
If you do get stung? No problem. You just want to have someone pee on your wound. Heh.
Come on down. ;-)
gators and crocs need to be exterminated not allowed to flourish,same with sharks.
Saw a Mexican guy get stung at the beach one time.
Screaming in horrible pain. He was stung on the ankle and his friends had to tote him to their vehicle. I assume they took him to the ER...............
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