Attack by 9-foot gator ends with fisherman airlifted to hospital, Florida officials say

A fisherman was airlifted to a Florida hospital after being attacked by a 9-foot alligator, officials said.

First responders received a call of a “severe animal bite” shortly before 4:30 p.m. on March 10, according to Sarah Lux, a spokesperson for Lake County Fire Rescue.

A man was fishing in Pennbrooke Fairways, a small subdivision and golf course in Leesburg, when he encountered the gator, Lux said in an email to McClatchy News.

The gator bit him and left him with injuries to his hand and wrist, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told McClatchy News.

The man was airlifted to a trauma center in Orlando for treatment, Lux said.

A nuisance alligator trapper and an officer with the conservation commission responded to the location and removed the male gator, which measured 9 feet, 3 inches long, officials said.

According to the FWC, it’s standard policy in the state to euthanize nuisance gators, which are classified as gators over 4 feet in length that pose a threat to humans. The Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program handles those types of incidents.

Alligators can be found in all 67 counties in Florida, according to the FWC. Wildlife specialists urge the public not to feed gators, which will learn to associate humans with food.

Keep a safe distance away from gators, swim in designated areas during daytime hours and keep pets on leashes, the FWC advises.

Leesburg is in central Florida, about a 45-mile drive northwest of Orlando.

This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Attack by 9-foot gator ends with fisherman airlifted to hospital, Florida officials say."