A fisherman ended up in the hospital Sunday afternoon after having his hand eaten by an alligator in Leesburg, Florida.
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The man was fishing in a pond when the animal appeared and attacked him.
“While the guy was on the ground, the alligator grabbed his hand and they both rolled,” Ron Priest said in an interview with Fox 35. He and his wife witnessed the scene from their backyard.
According to him, the fisherman was trying to reel in a fish when the animal bit his hand.
“The alligator was after (the) fish, and what we don’t know is if the guy was trying to unhook the fish,” he said.
A total of two people called 911 to report the attack, calls that Lake County Fire Rescue made public.
“There’s an alligator attacking a man in my yard!” Ms. Priest said as the second person mentioned that the animal had left with the victim’s hand. “Hand is gone!” (the hand is gone!),” she added.
The 9-foot animal had to be put down, as per protocol in the event of an attack on a human, said the Florida Fish and Wildfire Conservation Commission (FWC).
“My understanding is that (FWC) can’t get rid of a human part. He has to be sent to a medical facility and, in case he could have been reattached, they flew him to Orlando,” Ron Priest said.
The victim, for his part, was transported to hospital by helicopter.
