Gator Or Dog? Man In North Port Finds Out The Hard Way: Sheriff

NORTH PORT, FL — A 49-year-old man was bitten by an alligator in North Port early Tuesday morning after mistaking the reptile for a dog, authorities said.

Around 12:30 a.m., deputies were called to the Warm Mineral Springs Motel, 12597 S. Tamiami Trail, regarding “an animal problem,” Douglas Johnson, creative communications specialist with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in an email to Patch.

Deputy Jeffrey Mendez was already at the scene for a separate call and contacted dispatchers about a man who said an alligator bit his right leg.

The man told deputies that he was walking outside the motel when he saw a dark figure moving along the bushes on the shell path. Thinking it was a dog with a long leash, he didn’t hesitate or move out of the alligator’s way, the sheriff’s office said.

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The gator chomped down on his right leg, holding on tightly, the sheriff’s office said. As he tried to get away, he told deputies, he felt the gator tear out a chunk of his leg.

The victim found Mendez, who called Sarasota County EMS to the scene to help with the injuries. He was taken to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital campus in Venice for treatment.

As a nuisance alligator trapper contracted through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was on his way to the motel, Sgt. James Achille caught the gator, the sheriff’s office said.

The trapper later removed the 7-foot, 1-inch-long alligator from the property, bringing it alive to Townsend and Sons Gator Farm, FWC said.

The agency continues to investigate the gator attack.

Alligators become more visible and active during spring and summer, FWC said. When temperatures rise, their metabolism increases, and they begin seeking food.

The agency recommends the following general alligator safety tips:

• Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator.
• Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey.
• Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours and without your pet. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn.
• Never feed an alligator. Feeding alligators is illegal and dangerous. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness people and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food.

People concerned about an alligator should call the FWC's toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).

Generally, an alligator is deemed a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet long and the caller believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property, according to the FWC website. When smaller alligators wind up in places that are not acceptable, such as swimming pools or garages, they must be removed.