Man loses part of his leg after being attacked by alligator he mistook for a dog

 

A man lost a huge chunk of his leg when he was attacked by an alligator outside a Florida hotel after mistaking the reptile for a dog, police said.

 

The man was walking outside the Warm Mineral Springs Motel in North Port around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, when he noticed a dark figure shuffling around in some bushes.

Thinking that it was a dog attached to a long leash, the man didn’t move out of the way when the gator charged toward him. Then the alligator bit his leg and ripped off a piece of his muscle tissue, deputies said.

A deputy who was out on a separate call in the area responded to the scene. The man was taken by paramedics to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to WWSB.

While waiting for an animal trapper to respond to the scene, another deputy was able to capture the alligator and removed it from the area.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the attack.