Miami, Dec. 16 A man was seriously injured when he was bitten by an alligator while washing his hands in a lagoon in Sanibel, on the west coast of Florida, and had to be rushed to a Lee County hospital.
The alligator attack occurred this Thursday, when the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, was washing his hands in a Sanibel pond and was attacked by an alligator that caused “serious injuries” to his right forearm, local channels reported. of Miami.
The man was able to free himself from the alligator’s jaws and call the emergency number 911, while other people were able to apply a tourniquet to his injured arm.
Agents from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Lee County Police and a trapper traveled to the scene, in the area known as Periwinkle Way, to capture the man. reptile, without it being known for the moment if they managed to catch it.
Although alligator attacks are rare, there have been an average of eight unprovoked bites per year in Florida over the past decade that required medical attention, according to the FWC.
From 1948 through 2021, there were 442 unprovoked bite incidents in Florida, resulting in 26 deaths.
Last September an alligator measuring more than 7 feet (2.1 meters) bit a 77-year-old woman in a lake in Manatee County, on the west coast of Florida, and in July an 80-year-old woman was devoured when she fell in an Englewood pond and a man attacked near a Sarasota lake.
A man was also bitten in June on Florida’s west coast by an alligator he mistook for a long leash.
Alligators can be found in virtually all 67 counties that make up Florida, despite their listing on the federal endangered species list.
Authorities often warn against throwing food at alligators, as this can cause the reptiles to “associate humans with food.” EFE
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