A 31-year-old man had to have part of his arm amputated after being bitten by an alligator in Lake Monroe, Florida, this week in an “extremely rare” incident, authorities said.
According to media reports, the victim, who the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said was “experiencing homelessness,” was swimming in a lake in Sanford around 2 a.m. Sunday.
“We were driving home and we passed this guy lying there covered in blood,” witness Kendall Hardester told Fox 35 Orlando at the time. “His arm was gone around here. You could see all the bones and flesh sticking out.”
“I just ran over, took one of the little towels he had and covered his arm with it and held it tight until the paramedics got there,” she added.
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The 31-year-old victim was attacked by an alligator on Lake Monroe in Sanford, Florida, early Sunday morning. (Google Maps)
“Human-alligator conflicts are extremely rare in Florida, and the chances of a Floridian suffering serious injury in an unprovoked encounter with an alligator in Florida are approximately 1 in 3.1 million,” FWC spokesperson Lauren Clarebaut told Fox News Digital on Friday morning.
“On June 16, 2024, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission received a report that a man who was swimming in a lake in Seminole County was bitten and seriously injured by an alligator,” she added. “The incident is currently under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.”
Fisherman John Lawson, who also claims to have been in the area early Sunday morning, said in an interview with WKMG that he saw the man “dive underwater, surface and gasp for breath.”
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An alligator moves through the Wakodahatchee Marsh in Delray Beach, Florida, on March 13. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission told WESH that alligator attacks on humans are rare. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
“I asked him if he was OK and he freaked out. He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m OK,'” Lawson told the station. “It felt weird going underwater so I stayed there for about a minute just to be sure.”
“I said, ‘Hey, we’re just trying to help you. You’re out in the dark and you’re either going to get hit by a boat or eaten by a crocodile.’ He said he wasn’t worried about the crocodiles,” Lawson added.
According to WKMG, the FWC said the man was taken to a nearby hospital after the attack and suffered a partial amputation of his arm.
An alligator swims in shallow waters in Everglades National Park in January 2020. (Paul Rovere/Getty Images)
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Researchers at the institute estimate that there are more than 1,200 alligators living in Lake Monroe, according to WKMG.
