In Memory of Chubbs
Nine-foot golf-course gator bites off fisherman’s hand in Florida
Chris Graythen
While the PGA Tour’s best and brightest get ready attack pins at the Players Championship this week, residents of Leesburg, Florida are still reeling from a different kind of attack on a local golf course. That’s where a man was ravaged by a nine-foot male alligator while fishing on a pond at Pennbrooke Fairways. The massive gator emerged from the depths in pursuit of a fish the angler had on his line but attacked him instead, leading to a horrifying scene that stopped onlookers, including nearby golfers, in their tracks. Fox 35 has the transcripts from two frantic 911 callers, one of which was the victim’s wife, who watched the struggle unfold.
Caller #1
Caller: "There is a gator attacking a man in my backyard!"
Dispatcher: "Yes, ma'am."
Caller: "Some people now have stopped in their golf carts!"
Caller #2
Dispatcher: Is this regarding a gator attack?"
Caller: "Yes, he took his hand off."
Dispatcher: "Oh no, okay."
Caller: "Hand is gone!"
Unfortunately, the second caller was not embellishing, as the gator severed the victim’s hand in the attack. “While the guy was on the ground,” witness Ron Priest explained to Fox 35, “the gator got the guy in the hand and the two rolled.” The victim was said to be stumbling around “moaning and groaning” as the gator ran back into the water without the fish or the hand.
A helicopter arrived minutes later to airlift the victim to an Orlando hospital. The fate of his of hand, however, is still unclear.
