MIAMI . A nearly 7-foot alligator bit a 79-year-old Naples man at a golf course Thursday morning, according to local authorities.
The man told deputies he was walking through the Forest Glen community and the golf course where he lives shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday when an alligator approached him and bit his leg, the county sheriff's office said. from Collier on Facebook. Office:
"I'm bleeding. I don't know how bad it is. It's spacious," the man told an emergency dispatcher, according to the recording of the call. "I see a lot of torn skin, maybe some muscle."
“Go think, walk to stay healthy,” the 79-year-old jokingly said.
According to a Facebook post, a police officer gave the man first aid and he was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.
A second police officer saw the alligator leave the scene and saw the reptile, which was later captured and removed from the golf course. According to the sheriff's office, the alligator is a 6'9" female.
The office urged residents to be careful with water and vegetation where alligators may nest because it is alligator mating season.
"Alligators are most active from dusk to dawn, so plan accordingly to reduce the chance of encountering them," the sheriff's office said.
Florida is home to about 1.3 million alligators in the state's 67 counties, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. So-called "nuisance alligators", which measure more than 4 meters in length and are believed to pose a danger to people, pets or property, are removed and killed by hired hunters.
There were 11 reported alligator bites in the state in 2022, nine of which were classified as "serious" and two as "minor," according to the commission. None was fatal.
Last month, a Florida man lost his arm after being bitten by a 10-foot alligator. And in March, another Florida resident was bitten by one of the reptiles near his front door.