A 12-foot-long alligator has been caught in a Central Florida river where a teen was bitten while swimming.
Andrew Hudson of Winter Springs estimated it was 10-foot-long alligator that pulled him by the head into a death roll Monday while he swam in the Little Big Econ State Forest.
The alligator trapped and killed Tuesday night was bigger than the one Hudson described, but Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill says it’s likely the same one.
Found: The search is off for an alligator that nearly killed a 17-year-old swimmer in Florida Monday. This 12-foot specimen, caught Tuesday near the location of the attack, is in all likelihood the culprit
‘It is nearly impossible to know for certain whether or not this is the gator that bit the 17-year-old,’ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman, Hill told the Orlando Sentinel.
‘But the fact that it was easily attracted to bait that was set very close to where Hudson was bitten, and that is showed little fear of the trapper, indicates a high probability that it is the alligator we were targeting.’
Usually more timid, this particular alligator’s fearlessness had wildlife authorities worried in the area where swimming and other recreation are common.
Though they can’t identify the creature as the one involved in the attack with absolute certainty, Hill said their satisfied enough to call the hunt over. No more alligators will be trapped at the park unless another aggressive alligator is reported.
Relief: Andrew Hudson, 17, escaped with 19 and can now rest easy, knowing his foe has been caught and killed
Unexpected: The 17-year-old was attacked in the Little Econlockhatchee River at the Little Big Econ State Park near Geneva, Florida. Swimming is allowed in the river
Professional trapper George Walrath pulled the huge beast from the Little Econlockhatchee River just a day after the attack left Hudson bleeding from the head.
The teenager escaped with 19 stitches and staples in his head after the terrifying encounter.
Hudson said the alligator suddenly attacked as he swam near Geneva, Florida.
Paramedics said his quick reaction almost certainly saved his life.
‘He had blood from the top of his head all the way down’: Hudson underwent 3 hours of stitching and stapling following the attack
‘At first I didn’t know what it was, so my reaction just started swinging and took off swimming as fast as I could to get away from it.’
With blood pouring from a wound that stretched from his forehead to the back of his head, Hudson managed to clamber out of the water.
He wrapped his shorts around his head to stem the bleeding while a friend, Mark O’Shea, ran close to a mile until he found a park ranger who called paramedics.
Hudson was rushed to South Seminole Hospital where he underwent three hours of surgery on Monday night.
‘(It) just came from behind and jerked him under,’ O’Shea said. ‘He went under and started freaking out, and I saw him come halfway up to the shore.’
O’Shea said Park Rangers were skeptical when he arrived breathless to tell them about the attack.
‘They looked at me like I was crazy. I’m like, “My friend really got bit by an alligator,”’ said O’Shea.
Hudson told Florida Wildlife Officials he did not see any alligators when he and his friends first went in the water.
Nabbed: Little Big Econ State Park near Geneva, Florida where the alligator, which will be processed for its meat and hide, was caught Tuesday by pro trapper George Walrath
source: dailymail.co.uk
