Thursday 14 June 2012

Alligator bites hand off Florida boat captain



An alligator chomped off the hand of a Florida airboat captain who witnesses say was feeding the gator before the attack.

Wallace Weatherholt, 63, of Captain Doug’s Everglades Tours, was leading a boat tour with six passengers through Everglades City on Tuesday afternoon when his hand was bitten off, the Sun Sentinel newspaper reports.

Weatherhold, also known as Captain Wally, was still conscious when he was rushed back the dock and later transported to a Naples hospital.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials say the alligator was euthanized and the hand retrieved from its stomach, according to the newspaper.

Doctors hope to be able to reattach the hand, WINK News reports.

The FWC told Naples Daily News newspaper an investigation is continuing, since it is a second-degree misdemeanor to feed alligators.
PIX: The above picture is the front view of the ticketing office where the captain works.

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