Man wrestles off alligator that bit him as he washed hands in pond, Florida officials say

A man had to wrestle himself away from an alligator that bit him as he washed his hands in a Florida pond, officials said.

After the alligator bit him, he was able to “free himself,” and people standing by applied a tourniquet, according to a news release from the city of Sanibel, which is on Sanibel Island off Florida’s Gulf Coast, about 160 miles south of Tampa.

Officers with the Sanibel Police Department received a call about the bite just after 11 a.m. on Dec. 15, the release says. First responders brought the man to a hospital where he was being treated for a serious injury to his arm.

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a state trapper went to the pond to search for the alligator.

Trappers captured the animal and told Fox 4 that it would be euthanized.

“A pretty good size gator...about 8 to 10 feet gator came up and grabbed him by the arm,” Sanibel Fire’s Division Chief Tim Barrett said in an interview with Fox 4. “It was bit of a struggle.”

Hurricane Ian, which made landfall just north of Sanibel Island on Sept. 28, destroyed a causeway connecting the island to mainland Florida. The causeway was repaired and reopened on Oct. 19.

The island, which is home to more than 6,000 people, sustained severe damage during the hurricane, including “overwashed sand, coastal flooding, and in some places, erosion,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Man wrestles off alligator that bit him as he washed hands in pond, Florida officials say."