Golfer survives chomp by 11-foot alligator in Venice
So, in spite of a "Beware of Alligator" sign and he stuck his arm into the water anyway!
Unfortunately for the gator: it's a standard practice to destroy gators that attack humans or pets.
Venice is on the S.W. coast, on the Gulf of Mexico.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VENICE, Fla. -- A Tennessee man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when an 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in, authorities said.
Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball from a pond on the sixth hole Monday at the Lake Venice Golf Club.
The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He used his left arm to beat on the reptile until it freed him.
"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled ... 'Help. Help. I've been bitten by a gator,'" said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.
Burger, from Lenoir City, Tenn., was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.
It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.
The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign posted because the staff is aware that a large alligator likes to hang out there.
"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."
Source: Golfer survives chomp by 11-foot alligator in VeniceVENICE, Fla. -- A Tennessee man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when an 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in, authorities said.
Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball from a pond on the sixth hole Monday at the Lake Venice Golf Club.
The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He used his left arm to beat on the reptile until it freed him.
"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled ... 'Help. Help. I've been bitten by a gator,'" said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.
Burger, from Lenoir City, Tenn., was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.
It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.
The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign posted because the staff is aware that a large alligator likes to hang out there.
"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."
So, in spite of a "Beware of Alligator" sign and he stuck his arm into the water anyway!
Unfortunately for the gator: it's a standard practice to destroy gators that attack humans or pets.
Venice is on the S.W. coast, on the Gulf of Mexico.
Idiots!
