NORTH PORT, Fla. — Deputies responded to Warm Mineral Springs Motel around 12:34 a.m. Tuesday for a man who survived an alligator attack.
According to deputies, a 49-year-old man said he was walking outside and thought he saw a dog on a long leash. When the animal came toward him, the man did not move, and the alligator bit the man’s right leg.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said the gator held on to the man’s leg and pulled at muscle and tissue. While the man tried to get away, he said he felt the alligator bite a chunk off his leg.
The man found a deputy who was already in the area for a separate call. The deputy called EMS who took the man to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice.
A sergeant with the sheriff’s office caught the gator and an alligator trapper removed the 7’1 animal to Townsend Farms, an alligator processor.
If you see an alligator that you believe could pose a threat to people, pets or property, call FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 1-866-392-4286.
