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Posted on 04/28/2025 5:34:10 AM PDT by V_TWIN
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – An American hero risked his life swimming to the aid of America’s national bird, facing a possible alligator in the process.
Doug Hay told FOX 13 Tampa Bay that on April 19, he heard a splash in the lake behind his Lakewood Ranch, Florida, home. He and his wife went to investigate the noise and saw a bald eagle in the center of the lake, with another bald eagle circling above.
Hay believes the two eagles were fighting when one of them became seriously injured and ended up in the lake.
Seeing the eagle in trouble, Hay jumped into the lake and started swimming toward it.
Hay told FOX 13 the eagle landed “smack in the middle” of the 100-yard lake, and he also knew a 7-foot alligator lived in the water.
Hay reached the eagle, which grabbed his arm with its talons. The pair “barely made it to shore” because Hay, 69, said he was so tired. Hay’s wife caught the whole incredible rescue on camera.
In a follow-up video, Hay shows the eagle on the lakeshore and says he hopes it will fly off. After a while, when it became clear the eagle was injured, he notified a wildlife rescue.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Surprised some government bureaucrat haven’t arrested him yet for something made up. Can’t have private citizens doing good.
Red State Florida rolls with the private citizen in such circumstances.
Florida Man ping!
GATOR Ping!.................
Florida man goes berserk and doesn’t do anything dumb lol
Gators usually don’t attack humans that aren’t bothering them. It’s different with Crocodiles.
Should have just let the gator do it’s thing.
Plenty of eagles and gators to go around
Good motivation to learn quickly.
I like apex predators, preferably at some remove, but I’d never risk my life for one. Shoulda let the eagle be. Great circle of life, and all that.
Hey, the gator’s gotta eat too.
People say the odds of a gator attack are low, but they definitely eat humans. One death roll, and whatever’s in its jaws is at least seriously injured. Few humans are eaten because the average person doesn’t encounter a gator even once a year. I’d wager someone who ran into as many gators as humans per year would be way more likely to be chomped by a gator than harmed by a human.
Idiotic. Nature is red in tooth and claw. It is the way of things. Don’t interfere. Gators gotta eat too.
We all aren’t nuttso here in Florida.
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