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.
PING!.....................
Visited my Aunt in Florida. She said to run crooked...their vision stinks. That caused a few nightmares.
This played out on “On Patrol Live,” one of the few great TV shows on the air anymore. They euthanized the alligator on live TV. That was a little intense. Sad but necessary.
Nine-foot?
Even AOC knows most have only four!
And WHY are alligators on the ESL in 2023?
Especially in Florida?
FTA: “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.”
Then the article goes on to state that in Florida alone, there are 1.3 million of them.
This is irrefutable proof that the endangered species act is nonsense, just like most of what our government does.
Black bears are a protected species here as well.
We are up to our ears in Black Bears..................
Alligators are still an endangered species because there are ONLY 5 million of them in America. 1.5 million in Florida alone.
Maybe once we have 10 or 20 million alligators, then they will no longer be endangered.
LOL. The Left is insane.
Every species should be somewhere between endangered and endangering...
We are all part of the food chain.
Just exactly where you are on it depends on how fast you are...........
I would suggest that alligators attacking and eating people would cause them to associate people with food as well.
Let this be a lesson to those of you thinking about moving to Florida.
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.
When animals attack! On Saturday night.
‘A gator just bit me’: An alligator attacked him on his front porch. Florida man shares his story.
Patricio G. Balona
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Scot Hollingsworth heard noises outside his front door Saturday night and thought his teenage son might be sneaking in or out of the house. He could not have been more wrong.
He took one step out onto his front porch, illuminated only by the glare of the television screen, and suddenly felt a set of powerful jaws grip onto his left leg.
Florida Man laments Interrupted
Bicycle Riding ?!?
.
Yuppers,
I’m done here.
It’s DeSantis’ fault! Finally, something Trump can pin on him. But how to turn gators into a nickname? Hmmm.
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