Western Lake (Grayton) -- Alligator caught!

[Matt J]

I thought the gator was taken without incident, but he/she would have been in clear sight of the Pandora's tiki bar, so if some patron was up for a gator wraslin' match, who knows...

Key words in bold.

 

[ckhagen]

There are gators in the man-made lakes in my moms residential subdivision (these lakes are NOT appropriate habitats for gators). It's really frightening because the houses are built so close to the lakes. I've never seen anyone feed one there, but my young siblings have come home from fishing in the lakes, terrified because the gators have climbed out of the lake in their vicinity. Trappers have relocated several of them. It makes me wonder if someone put them there though because I can't figure out for the life of me how they got into this neighborhood.

 

[JUL]

Alligator bites off arm of late-night swimmer in Okeechobee

BY KEONA GARDNER |Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers June 24, 2008

Okeechobee - Kasey Edwards said he never paid "too much mind" to alligators swimming in canals in Okeechobee County.

But early Sunday morning, an 11?-foot alligator had his full attention as Edwards, 18, struggled to free his left arm from the jaws of the reptile.

"It's a very surreal feeling. You know, feeling like you're about to die here and you know, praying to God," Edwards said. "I have to give all the credit to God for keeping me out there."

He got away with his life and the gator with his left arm.

On Monday evening, Edwards was in fair condition at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne with his arm severed about 3 to 4 inches above the elbow. Today, Edwards said, he will have surgery. He hopes to be out of the hospital by the weekend.

At 2:21 a.m. Sunday, Edwards was hanging out with friends on Nubbin Slough in Okeechobee County when he told them he was going to swim across a 25-foot-deep canal, according to an Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office report.

Edwards had been drinking alcoholic beverages earlier and may have been impaired, according to witnesses quoted in the report. His friends tried to persuade him not to do it, the report states.

Halfway through the swim, an alligator approached Edwards and clamped down on his left arm. Edwards said he knew the next move was the death roll, when a gator pulls its prey underwater and rolls the victim around to drown it.

And that's when Edwards said he fought back by grabbing hold of a buoy line and not letting go. Somewhere in the battle he used the middle finger on his right hand to poke the reptile in the eye.

That's when Edwards got free, he said, started swimming and realized he didn't have his left arm. But his main concern was to make it to the east end of the canal so friends could pull him to safety.

Edwards said his attack shows something needs to be done about the overpopulation of gators.

"They're not protected creatures. They're nuisance animals," he said.

Edwards said the credit for his survival and quick thinking goes to God, friends and emergency personnel.

"I don't care who you are or how strong you think you are. You aren't going to be able to hold on to a buoy line while an 11?-foot alligator is trying to pull you underwater," he said.


*****************
I wonder if a drunk 18 year old is more of a nuisance than the gators.

I know this probabl wasn't meant to be funny, but, the part where he said he started to swim away and noticed he didn't have a left arm made me laugh... Wouldn't that be somethng you would notice immediately

 

[Smiling JOe]

No it isn't, from listening to many people interviewed who lost limbs suddenly. The adrenaline kicks in, and all you worry about is escaping possible death.

On a similar note to this story, a couple of weeks ago, somewhere in FL, I heard reports of another guy losing an arm to a hungry gator. The gators are trying to fatten up for the cooler approaching weather, which slows them down tremendously.

 

[NoHall]

I know this probabl wasn't meant to be funny, but, the part where he said he started to swim away and noticed he didn't have a left arm made me laugh... Wouldn't that be somethng you would notice immediately

Umm...when all the nerves are no longer attached, you don't so much feel them anymore. I got my foot under a lawnmower when I was 11. I watched my shoe fly out the other side and thought it had missed my foot because I didn't feel it. I didn't feel my big toe for more than 10 years, in fact...

No it isn't, from listening to many people interviewed who lost limbs suddenly. The adrenaline kicks in, and all you worry about is escaping possible death.

On a similar note to this story, a couple of weeks ago, somewhere in FL, I heard reports of another guy losing an arm to a hungry gator. The gators are trying to fatten up for the cooler approaching weather, which slows them down tremendously.

A child in Louisiana also lost his arm last week. A hunter was able to retrieve it and the doctors reattached it, but I haven't heard if the arm survived yet--the article said that it took 3 1/2 hours to hunt & kill the beast, to get the arm out (yuck!) and restore blood flow to the muscle, and tissue death generally occurs at 4 hours...

I was not too impressed with the dude in Okeechobee's respect for nature. If you go surfing in Australia or Hawaii, you could be attacked by a shark because that's where they live. If you decide to swim across canals in Florida, you are gator bait. If you swim anywhere drunk, (and he is underage, at that) chances are that you'll be pulled out of the water by someone kind enough to save your miserable life. :angry:

 

[Landlocked]

The human body is an amazing thing. An alligator rips off your arm, and your body blocks the pain.

But then you catch the steel bed frame with your pinky toe and you run away shrieking in pain. There's always the trailer hitch to the shin thing, too. That always feels great.

 

[NoHall]

The human body is an amazing thing. An alligator rips off your arm, and your body blocks the pain.

But then you catch the steel bed frame with your pinky toe and you run away shrieking in pain. There's always the trailer hitch to the shin thing, too. That always feels great.

Sweet baby Jesus...I have permanent notches in my legs from that...

 

[dcgoz]

Don't feel too bad Jul - I laughed too. Drunk, swimming with gators at 2:30 in the morning - there is humor there. I'm sure the words "watch 'is yall" were uttered at some point.

 

[Matt J]

Sweet baby Jesus...I have permanent notches in my legs from that...

We'll have to compare, I got a float injury during the 4th.

 

[NoHall]

Don't feel too bad Jul - I laughed too. Drunk, swimming with gators at 2:30 in the morning - there is humor there. I'm sure the words "watch 'is yall" were uttered at some point.

Okay...that's true...:roll: