After Gator Bit Off Arm, Man Was Lost In Woods For 3 Days: Report

MYAKKA CITY, FL — A Sarasota man spent three days lost in the woods at Lake Manatee Fish Camp in Myakka City after an alligator bit off his arm in July.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission reported on July 21 that Eric Merda, 43, was bitten on his arm and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Now, in a video published by CBS Miami, Merda shared his story. While at the fish camp, he got lost in the woods and when he found Lake Manatee, he decided to swim across it to get back where he came from.

“Not the smartest decision a Florida boy could make,” he said.

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While swimming, he encountered the gator, which snapped Merda’s arm back and dragged him under water three times, he said. “She finally did her death roll and took off with my arm.”

When he got out of the water, he was still lost. And this time he was missing his arm with “bones poking out, muscles,” he told CBS. “Sometimes I felt like I was walking in circles. … I started following the sun, power lines and stuff like that. Things I could see.”

After three days in the woods, he came across a fence with a man on the other side and asked for help, explaining, “A gator got my arm.”

The FWC, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and Manatee County EMS all responded to the scene. A nuisance alligator trapper contracted through the FWC was also sent to the area where the gator attack happened, the agency said.

Patch has reached out to FWC for additional information.