Trapper Being Treated for Alligator Bite

A wildlife trapper is being treated at Brandon Regional Hospital after being bitten by an alligator he was called to trap.

At 7:43 pm, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies responded to 913 U.S. 301 S. in Palm River to check on a report of a loose alligator near the roadway.

Deputies arrived on scene and located the alligator, which was approximately 6
feet long. A licensed trapper, John Wilson, responded and, during the process of capturing the alligator, the gator bit down on the trapper's ankle.

The gator would not let go of the trapper's leg and, in fear for the trapper's
life, a deputy shot the gator causing the gator to release the trapper leg.

Deputies called Hillsborough County Fire Rescue to treat the trapper for a
serious bite wound to his leg, however, the sheriff's office said the wound did not appear to be life threatening.

The alligator was killed.